Harry Maguire was outstanding in Manchester United's victory over Chelsea... the defender reads danger like few others
* Manchester United beat Chelsea 4-0 in the Premier League on Sunday
* Harry Maguire made his debut following his £80m move from Leicester
* The defender hardly put a foot wrong and impressed the Old Trafford crowd
Harry Maguire reads danger like you or I would read a Beano comic. It comes naturally to the 6ft 4in central defender and that is what Manchester United have paid good money for.
When he wins the ball, it is a cue for United to attack. Take a look at their second goal against Chelsea on Sunday.
The England centre back wins possession by shrugging off the challenge of Tammy Abraham on the edge of the box. Scott McTominay picks it up, feeds Marcus Rashford, who then finds Andreas Pereira. He crosses, and Anthony Martial scores.
So four passes and precisely 16 seconds after Maguire steals the ball off Abraham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have a 2-0 lead. United fans appreciate a good defender.
Later on in the game, whenever Maguire won a header, whenever he cleared the danger by lumping the ball into Row Z, it was greeted by cheers.
They love seeing that and the statistics show he made the most clearances, the most interceptions, and the most blocks. He inspired the crowd and his team-mates here. United kept two clean sheets in 19 Premier League outings at Old Trafford last season.
They conceded 54 goals in total – the most of any of the Big Six – and 25 of those came at home. Now, they are off and running in 2019-20. You could see the confidence coursing through Solskjaer's new signings in the second half.
The defender hardly put a foot wrong in what was a highly impressive debut at Old Trafford. The Englishman was greeted by cheers whenever he won a header during the game
Maguire was outstanding, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka was solid too. The young right back is swift into the challenge and never stops running. You can see the hunger, the desire to do well. Dan James came off the bench and got his goal.
The 21-year-old's celebration said it all. The emotion, the ecstasy. Fans connect with that. Every United supporter heading home from Old Trafford on Sunday night will have been saying, 'We've made some good signings there'. Maguire is at the forefront of that.
I know of big clubs who were tracking the 26-year-old back when he was just a teenager breaking into the first team at Sheffield United. I was surprised when he went to Hull for only £2.5million in 2014. He had potential but none of the big boys in the Premier League took a chance at the time.
Now, after paying £80m, Manchester United have him. This was a very good day for Maguire and Solskjaer's new signings.
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