Harry Maguire has hailed “magnificent” Scott McTominay for his star turn against Leeds United, describing the Manchester United midfielder’s performance as one of the best he’s ever seen.
McTominay scored his first two Premier League goals of the season in quick succession to set United on their way to a thrilling 6-2 win in Sunday’s Pennines derby clash.
The Scotland international’s perfectly placed strike from just outside the box opened the scoring with two minutes on the clock, and he notched his second 60 seconds later as he took an Anthony Martial pass in his stride before producing an expert finish.
The 24-year-old is now the only player in the history of the top-flight to find the net twice in the opening three minutes of a match, with his stunning contribution in the final third paving the way for his team-mates to run rampant at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes also grabbed a brace, with goals from Victor Lindelof and Daniel James rounding off a comprehensive victory that ensured that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men moved up to third in the top-flight standings.
Maguire was left in awe by McTominay’s all-action display, and has reserved special praise for his team-mate ahead of the Red Devils’ trip to Everton in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
“You’ve seen in recent months how we’ve been relying on the forward lads in [Marcus] Rash[ford] and Bruno, so for Scott to score was great. He was magnificent – one of the best performances I’ve seen and played with on the pitch from a central midfielder,” The United captain told the club’s official website.
“He deserved his two goals and it’s nice for Victor [Lindelof] to get on the scoresheet as well, it’s something we’ve worked on – a great touch from Anto[ny Martial] at the front post.
“It’s nice to spread the goals around, we know we’ve got goals in the team and it was a great night for players to get on the scoresheet. But more importantly, everyone is happy with the performance, the six goals and the three points.”
Maguire added on the Manchester outfit’s healthy position in the Premier League table amid talk of a title challenge: “I think it’s just important to keep winning games and looking after your own points tally.
“You can get ahead of yourself in terms of looking at other people’s results and you just need to look after yourself. If you keep winning games and putting three points on the table then you’ll be there or thereabouts.
“We’re not getting carried away, as I said. We had a big win [against Leeds] but there is lots of improvement we need to make to make sure we’re challenging at the end of the season. That’s what we’ve got to aim for.”
Asked how important it is for United to progress in the League Cup on Wednesday as Solskjaer bids to bring a three-year trophy drought to an end, the 27-year-old responded: “It’s really important this season that we try and get our hands on silverware and win a trophy.
“At this club we’re expected to win trophies and we go into this game full of confidence from the result [last weekend]. We’ve got to start winning trophies, we haven’t won in the last two or three years now and it’s important. It’s an important competition for ourselves to build momentum and confidence.”
