[인터풋볼] Reporter Jong-Hun Oh = The team won, but Harry Maguire was criticized.
Manchester United played in the UEFA Champions League Group F Group F Game 5 of the 2021-22 season held at the Estadio de la Seramica in Villarreal, Spain at 2:45 am (Korean time) on the 24th. 2-0 victory over Villarreal. With this, Man Utd qualified for the round of 16.
It was Manchester United’s first match after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked. Acting manager Michael Carrick made some changes to the starting lineup and tried to turn it around. Players such as Anthony Martial and Donnie van der Beek, who had not been selected by Solskjaer, participated. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the first half continued into a frustrating flow.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue. Ronaldo opened the scoring with a sensational lob shot that exceeded the goalkeeper’s height in the 24th minute of the second half. Manchester United, who took the lead, overcame Villarreal by adding a goal from Sancho in the 45th minute of the second half. United, who secured 10 points and climbed to the top of the group, advanced to the tournament regardless of the outcome of one remaining match.
Maguire, who played full-time as a centre-back on that day, was criticized despite the victory. Rafael van der Bart, who played with Son Heung-min during his time in Hamburg, said through Dutch ‘Zigo Sport’, “I’ve been talking about Maguire too much so I try to restrain myself as much as possible. But he’s really the worst (ShXX)”.
“It’s really amazing that Manchester United invested 90 million euros (about 120 billion won) to sign Maguire. He’s a player you can see in any amateur club in the Netherlands. He’s not a top-notch defender. You can check this every week. Yes. It is unbelievable that they were recruited with such a large sum of money.”
Maguire joined Manchester United from Leicester City in 2019. At the time, he recorded a huge transfer fee, and immediately received a lot of attention by wearing the captain’s armband just six months after joining the club. However, during the recent slump of Manchester United, Maguire also showed an unstable performance, and critics continued to point out that he did not perform his role as captain properly.
Van der Barth also mocked Maguire last summer. According to Talksports UK, Van der Barth said at the time, “I think Maguiner goes home after every game and tells his wife, ‘I ruined today’s game. But I’m making good money. ‘ He seems to say. He’s laughing at everyone.”
