Maguire: We thought we'd get the winner

Friday 07 February 2025 23:46

Harry Maguire felt that his winning goal had been coming, as it helped us to defeat Leicester City in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup.

United had to come from behind to book a place in the fifth-round draw on Monday evening, after Bobby Decordova-Reid's header on the cusp of half-time.

Responding to a disappointing first period, Ruben Amorim's side fought back through Joshua Zirkzee's leveller and then Maguire headed home in stoppage time in front of the Stretford End.

Moments after his late heroics, Maguire was interviewed by ITV's Gabriel Clarke on the pitch, delivering his post-match verdict to the UK broadcaster. He later spoke to MUTV, too, an interview you can watch below.

Read on for Harry's key post-match quotes below...

Maguire: Winner a proud moment for me Video

Maguire: Winner a proud moment for me

INTERVIEW | Harry describes the feeling of scoring a late winner in front of the Stretford End for the first time…

WINNING-GOAL FEELING

"It's an amazing feeling to score in the last minute at the Stretford End, it’s something I’ve never done in my Manchester United career, so it’s something that I’m proud of, I’m sure my family and friends were jumping up cheering. It’s one I’ll never forget really, to score that winner in front of the Stretford End."

ENDING ON A HIGH

"[It was] a great finish to the game. The second half we played a lot better, the first half was nowhere near good enough, we played at a slow tempo and didn’t really get going and probably deserved to go in at half-time losing. But I think in the second half, we came out at a lot higher tempo, we dominated the game and it really felt like we were going to get that winner, it wouldn’t fall to us [but], yeah, thankfully, I put it in the back of the net."

GARNACHO'S DIFFERENCE

"Yeah, of course, I think he made a big impact, he always does that when he comes off the bench, so credit to him, he’s ready, he’s focused. We knew at half-time he’d probably bring a little bit more directness and pace into the team. And also, Josh [Zirkzee] came on and I think he had a big impact in the game."

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United are in the hat for the last 16 as our defence of the FA Cup continues.

FOCUSING ON THE TEAM

"I feel like I’ve been in a good place for 18 months to two years. There's no doubt I had a difficult spell, I kept my head down, I knew my chance would come and when the chance came I needed to be ready and focused to take it. I’ve been given a lot off opportunities over the last 18 months now and I’ve played pretty much every game when I’ve been available. But it’s not just about me, it’s more importantly about the team and winning football matches and trying to get this club back to where it should be. At the moment we’re not where we should be but tonight is a good win to get through to the next round and we look forward to the next round."

Maguire's late goal knocked his former club out of the competition.

FA CUP IMPORTANCE

"Of course, it’s huge for us. Where we are in the Premier League is nowhere near good enough. We know we’re in the Europa League, we progressed in there. We want to take this competition really seriously, we did last year and obviously we’re the holders. We have a big responsibility to perform in this competition and we look forward to the next round now."

Who would you like us to face next in the Emirates FA Cup?poll

Who would you like us to face next in the Emirates FA Cup?

IN AWE OF OUR FANS

"It’s an amazing feeling, it's an amazing feeling to walk out [at Old Trafford] every time I do, and to put this shirt on and go into training and wear this badge. Then to go out and play at Old Trafford, to walk out of the tunnel at the start of the game. To see the fans, to see the stadium and see how good our fans are, we’ve had a difficult patch and they just stay with us. That first half, the performance wasn’t good enough at all, but we came out for the second half and you could feel the energy from the crowd. They’re special fans, the crowd are unbelievable here at Old Trafford, they suck the ball in that net sometimes and I think they did that tonight."

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