“Dribbling has always been an attribute of mine,” smiled Manchester United’s Harry Maguire after playing a key role in his side’s stunning 3-0 Europa League semi-final victory over Athletic Club in Bilbao. “I did it a lot more when I was younger, dribbling the ball up the pitch out of defence and stepping into midfield.”
Maguire was asked about his ball skills after his surprisingly accomplished mazy dribble along the right wing in the build up to United’s opening goal.
“It was a bit strange finding myself on the right wing. I managed to put a good ball in the box and we had a lot of bodies in the box so they must have trusted me to get the ball in because I couldn’t believe how many players were waiting for the cross. It was a nice moment, good to contribute to the goal and it was a great header by Cassie [Casemiro]. I think it looked easy on TV but there was a lot of spin on the ball and he controlled it really well.”
The Basques were by that time down to 10 after Dani Vivian’s sending off. Maguire pointed out Athletic had made a good start before then.
“It was a tough game, to be honest. The first 20 minutes was really tough. They come on strong, we knew how they would. It put us under a lot of pressure but we defended our box really well and there's been times this year every time we've been under pressure we’ve ended up conceding. It was the same against Bournemouth at the weekend and we need to get better at that and get better in those big moments. But goals change games.”
And defender Maguire’s contribution led to United briefly silencing the raucous home fans in the 51,890 crowd, showing skills a Brazilian would be proud of and earning the epithet 'Harrydinho' on social media.
“I’ve been called a lot of names,” he said. “I’m happy with that one, that’ll do. But there’s still a long way to go. I think we've still got a job to do in the second leg of the tie. It was a good performance. I think this year we've been in so many games where it could have gone either way and we haven't been clinical enough and tonight we were.
“We’ve put ourselves in a great position. There's no doubt about it, coming here and winning 3-0. I think everyone expects us to be in the final but we've got to prepare like it's a game at 0-0 and go into the game and be aggressive and play on the front foot. We'll be going into that game next Thursday, going to win the game. And that's the mentality we must have because we're at Old Trafford and playing at Old Trafford demands winning football matches”.
Asked if this has been his best season during his six years at the club, Maguire disagreed.
“No I wouldn't say it's my best season at the club, if I'm being honest. The first two seasons coming into a team what finished 7th, 8th the year before then, the first season I was here. I think we kept the most clean sheets in Europe, finished third the second season. Again, I think we were second in Europe, finished second. So I think that's my two best seasons at the club, form-wise. Although, I must say, the big moments this year for sure have been a lot better than previous seasons.”
Winning the Europa League back in Bilbao later this month would be hugely significant for United, not least because it grants access to next season’s Uefa Champions League.
“[Winning] it wouldn't save the season because I think it's been disappointing,” said Maguire. “There's been too many games that we've lost, far too inconsistent. It's been a bit of a mess in the middle of the season, the transition period we didn't handle it well enough us players, we didn't take the responsibility well enough from moving manager to manager and we took too long in embedding into new ideas. It's been a difficult season, it's been a disappointing season but of course football is about memories, it's about creating memories, it's about winning trophies and we have a great opportunity to win a trophy. For our fans, what they deserve, so that's the most important thing.”
And given Olympique Lyon scored four goals in the last round at Old Trafford, United must be wary of Athletic Club and conceding an early goal.
“I think there's every scenario that can happen in a game,” said Maguire. “We know that they could score first, but we've got to remain calm. I mean, the first 20 minutes out there tonight was intense. We've got a lot of senior players who need to step up in their moments. I think Cassie was brilliant tonight, Bruno [Fernandes] as well. So we have senior players who need to handle these moments well. And like I said, we'll be going into next Thursday and trying to get the win and moving to the final.”
