da betsson: Harry Maguire has admitted that he probably should have taken a red card and subsequent ban at the end of Manchester United’s defeat to Fulham.
da dobrowin: Article continues below
Article continues below
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Red Devils suffered dramatic defeatDefender could have stopped late attackWas already on a yellow card at the timeWHAT HAPPENED?
The England international defender collected a caution against the Cottagers after catching Sasa Lukic with a high challenge, which could have seen him sent off on a different day, and found himself walking a disciplinary tightrope from that point.
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He opted against chopping down flying Fulham winger Adama Traore deep into stoppage-time, after being caught out of position, and could only watch on helplessly as Alex Iwobi was teed up for a dramatic winner at Old Trafford.
WHAT MAGUIRE SAID
Maguire concedes that he could have taken one for the team and served a suspension knowing that United could have had another point on the board. He has said: “I was on a booking myself. In hindsight, maybe I should have just brought him down, but then you miss next week. It's easy to say now. We can say we should have been more cautious, we were far too naive, we can look back and assess it in terms of areas we can improve on, but ultimately over 90 minutes, we didn't do enough to win the game. I thought the reaction to going behind was really good. All the boys pushing, fighting, doing everything they can to get back into the game. We thoroughly deserved the equaliser. Then we went on and we pushed. We had all the pressure, all the momentum and the belief was there that we were going to go on and win the game. In the end, we’ve probably just thrown one too many bodies forward, left the middle of the pitch open and they’ve punished us with a clinical counter-attack.”
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?
Maguire hauled United level against Fulham in the 89th minute, only to see them concede again in the 97th. The Red Devils sit seventh in the Premier League table, eight points adrift of the top four and Champions League qualification, with an FA Cup fifth round clash at Nottingham Forest next on the agenda for them.