Harry Maguire praised for showing ‘huge responsibility’ in England win

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has endured a troublesome start to the season following his stellar displays for England in their run to the Euro 2020 final.

The 28-year-old was vital in the Three Lions progressing to their first final in the tournament but his standards have dropped this season.

Up until the start of this season, Maguire was arguably Manchester United’s most consistent performer for the entire calendar year so this dramatic downwards spiral is a shock for many supporters.

Maguire scored England’s opening goal of the game against Albania on Friday and has now been reserved for special praise by manager Gareth Southgate, who has singled the defender out for showing ‘huge responsibility’ as England took a huge step towards World Cup qualification.

Read more: (Video) Anthony Elanga copies famous Cristiano Ronaldo celebration as youngster scores brace

“Well, look, a difficult period for him coming back too early, really,” Southgate told ITV. “But he’s the player who wants to be out there for his team and I think he’s shown huge responsibility in doing that.

“So he never ducks that challenge and it was great to see him scoring tonight again.”

SN’s verdict on Maguire’s performance and start to this season…
The performance against Albania was a huge improvement on some of the recent outings at club level, even if the 3-0 win at Tottenham was probably his best of the season.

Maguire has been a shadow of himself for the last two months and perhaps some of that could be down to returning early from injury, which Southgate hinted at in his post-match interview.

He’ll be hoping that a corner has been turned now, however, with international breaks famous for ending bad runs and kickstarting positive ones. Solskjaer will need his captain to be on his a-game when the Premier League season resumes next season.

More Stories England Gareth Southgate Harry Maguire Manchester United