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Manchester United appeared to be back to their old ways on Saturday evening after falling to a 1-2 defeat to Fulham at Old Trafford.
In addition to being a humiliating home loss, this also marks the end of a fine run of form for United, in which they had strung together five straight wins in all competitions.
While United may have had 21 shots in total, they did little to contain a dangerous Fulham attack, which got 17 shots of their own during the encounter.
Although United managed to keep the visitors at bay going into half-time, it wouldn’t take much longer for Harry Maguire and his fellow defenders to capitulate, allowing Fulham to open the scoring.
In the 65th minute, the visitors got the best of United from a corner, where Fulham centre-back Calvin Bassey hammered the ball into the roof of the net to hand the team from London a deserved lead.
But while that appeared to spark United back to life, they were unable to find an equaliser until an unlikely player stepped up.
A well-struck corner from Christian Eriksen found the head of Maguire, who unfortunately was unable to keep his shot under the crossbar. Still, this wouldn’t be the defender’s only chance to bring his team back into the match.
In the 89th minute, Maguire was back on the attack. While Bruno Fernandes took a shot from distance that was parried by the Fulham keeper, it was Maguire who was perfectly positioned to pick up the rebound and level the scoreline.
Still, a late comeback wasn’t to be for United, as Alex Iwobi scored in the 97th minute to hand the visitors a late winner.
It was a busy afternoon at the back for Maguire, who managed 10 defensive actions, the most of any player on the pitch. These included five clearances, three interceptions, a tackle, and a blocked shot.
But while Maguire was heavily involved in United’s defensive efforts, he clearly struggled on the day, being dribbled past on two occasions and, of course, conceding two goals.
While strong in the air, winning four of five aerial duels, Maguire proved inefficient when it came to ground duels. He won just two out of five while losing possession on eight occasions.
In possession, Maguire appeared solid, completing 73 of his 79 passes to secure a 92% passing accuracy. He completed his only cross and made two key passes, however, his long balls left a lot to be desired, completing just three of seven attempts.
Ultimately, Maguire produced a mixed performance. While his goal is valued and he did produce a decent passing display, but a lack of consistency at the back provided Fulham with the confidence they needed to come away with two goals in what was a painful home defeat for United.
Still, this defeat comes as a result of a poor team performance, not just a handful of mistakes on Maguire’s part. One can’t help but feel that Erik ten Hag is skating on thin ice as his team’s troubled season persists.
(Stats via Sofascore)
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