Outcasts
For more than four seasons, Maguire has experienced a “roller coaster feeling” at Man United. He got off to a dream start, soon earning a starting spot and was even given the captain’s armband just a few months after joining from Leicester for a record fee of 80 million pounds. But after that, Maguire gradually declined and was even considered redundant.
MU fans and opponents both made a lot of criticism aimed at the English defender. Under Erik ten Hag, Maguire only appeared in 20 out of a possible 47 matches with a total of under 1,000 minutes.
Meanwhile, Onana is a highly appreciated addition in the summer for the Red Devils. The team spent a huge transfer fee of 47 million pounds to bring the Cameroonian goalkeeper back after his brilliant performances in an Inter shirt.
Become an unexpected hero
However, in the decisive match against Copenhagen, this duo emerged as heroes to help Man United maintain hope of winning tickets to continue in the Champions League.
Thanks to the injury problem in defense, Maguire has continuously had the opportunity to start in recent matches. And he took advantage of this opportunity very well. After impressive performances against Brentford and Sheffield United, he shined again against Copenhagen.
Maguire played his role with a goal in the 72nd minute after a pass from Christian Eriksen. This goal gave the Red Devils the lead in what had been a very tense match up until that point. And this is also the only goal that helps MU get the first 3 points in the 2023/24 Champions League group stage.