Manchester United showed a lack of control in the midfield and little danger up front as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United on Saturday night.
With just eight shots and one on target compared to the Magpies’ 22 shots and four on target, United were clearly the weaker team on the night, only showing signs of attacking promise in the closing minutes of the match.
Still, without a solid performance from United’s centre-backs, the final scoreline could have been far worse.
Harry Maguire was called into action early on in the match, making a crucial block against Tino Livramento to keep the scores level.
Soon after, the English centre-back was called into action yet again, blocking a thunderous shot by Aleksander Isak.
In total, Maguire made three blocks and six clearances, leading both teams in both statistics.
His two interceptions were the most of any United player, while his three tackles were only less than Diogo Dalot’s four out of the United lineup.
Maguire got 61 touches throughout the match – just three less than team leader Bruno Fernandes – however, his passing accuracy left a lot to be desired.
Completing none of his seven attempted long balls, Maguire was only able to complete 23 of 36 passes for a 64% passing accuracy.
Still, it is worth noting that a significant portion of Maguire’s passes were made from advanced positions as he sought to spur on United’s attack during the second half.
One poor moment from Maguire came on the attack when Antony’s equaliser on the stroke of stoppage time was disallowed after Maguire touched the ball while in an offside position.
Despite some moments of vulnerability, Maguire remained focused throughout the match, playing his part to prevent United from losing by a larger scoreline in a match where their attack seemed almost nonexistent.
(Stats via Sofascore)