Harry Maguire is looking forward to Sunday’s showdown against Leicester City with a place in the Champions League up for grabs.
Manchester United were far from the impressive spark in recent times against West Ham United on Wednesday, but fought until the end of the whistle to settle for a 1-1 at Old Trafford which took them to third place on the league standings.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side take on the Foxes in their final Premier League game on Sunday, knowing that at least a draw will suffice their target.
The trip to the King Power Stadium will also be the first for the United captain since making the big money move to the Manchester outfit.
“We’re disappointed,” Maguire said after the 1-1 draw. “It was an important game – a very important game not to lose – but we want to win the game.
“We want to win the game, want to score goals. We have scored numerous goals of late and we started the game really well. We started the game on the front foot, high tempo, big intensity and we should really take the lead. And then we had a sucker punch before half-time, which was disappointing.
“Great reaction from the lads to come out second half. It was a great goal from Mason (Greenwood): great feet, great finish and nice play from Anto (Anthony Martial) as well to find him.
“But then we wanted to push on and really control the game in their half and it didn’t happen like that. We lost a bit of tempo, a bit of intensity and a bit of aggression and we gave away the ball far too much.
“We’ll look at it but we’re in a great position. We’d have taken this come Christmas, so we have got to take the positives but we’re disappointed not to win the game for sure.”
Asked if United are ready for one last push after a punishing schedule, Maguire told MUTV: “Well, I hope so! If you can’t get ready for the game that’s coming on Sunday then you’re in the wrong sport.
“It’s a huge game. We’ve got three days now to prepare for it, which with our schedule being what it’s been it’s generally been two days and then play. So, you don’t get time on the training ground, it’s more about recovering.
“It’s nice to have three days, which seems a bit crazy to say but the schedule has been hard for the lads. But we’ll be ready on Sunday.”
For Greenwood, the weekend will be another game for him to add to his promising first season following his well-taken equaliser against the Hammers.
“It was a great goal,” the United skipper said. “When he gets in that box and he can manoeuvre his feet and he can manoeuvre it to either foot, he’s a nightmare for defenders. I know from training.
“But he’s been excellent, it’s great to see him playing with confidence. He always seems to be on the scoresheet, especially since we’ve returned from lockdown. He’s a special talent and he’s going to have a big future at this club.”
