Man Utd v Spurs: Harry Maguire hauling down Luke Shaw in 2020 is still bizarre | OneFootball

October 4, 2020. Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs’ biggest ever win at Old Trafford and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s heaviest defeat as United boss.

It’s not a match that any Red Devils fan will remember fondly, with United putting on one of their worst displays in many years. Perhaps the only saving grace is that coronavirus restrictions in place at the time meant none of their supporters had to suffer through it in person.

The scoreline itself tells you all you need to know about just how poor Solskjaer’s outfit were on the day. However, despite the thumping nature of their eventual loss, United actually took the lead inside two minutes at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

Bruno Fernandes’ penalty, won by Anthony Martial, was a sole bright spot for United – who lost their advantage in comical fashion just moments afterwards.

Tanguy Ndombele pounced to fire the ball home from close range, taking full advantage of a bizarre defensive mix-up between Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw in the United penalty area.

To be fair, though, it’s tough to put too much of the blame on Shaw’s shoulders as Maguire inexplicably appears to haul his defensive partner to the ground – just as the England left-back is preparing to clear the ball to safety.

Only Maguire will know why he chose to drag his colleague away from the ball at such a key moment, but there’s surely no way of explaining away such a bizarre error in any case.

You can check it out for yourself below.

Watch: Harry Maguire drags Luke Shaw down as he’s attempting to clear the ball

Maguire’s mistake set the tone for a catastrophic first period for United. Son Heung-min grabbed a second for the visitors on seven minutes, before the home side were reduced to 10-men when Martial was sent off for striking out at Erik Lamela just prior to the half-hour mark.

It was always going to be an uphill battle for United from that position, but Spurs ruthlessly put the contest to bed before the interval.

Kane struck to make it 3-1 after 30 minutes, with Son securing his brace seven minutes later.

Serge Aurier added a fifth in the second-half, before Kane rounded out United’s misery from the penalty spot.

The match marked a triumphant return to Old Trafford for Jose Mourinho – sacked by United in December 2018.

His replacement, Solskjaer, was permitted to fork out world-record fee for a defender when Maguire joined from Leicester City in an £80 million pound move less than nine months later.

The Ultimate Jose Mourinho ‘Did he say it?’ Quiz

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We’ll start with an easy one. Did Jose Mourinho really say this? “I’m European champion. I’m not one out of the bottle, I think I’m a special one”

Yes No

At the time, Maguire was seen as the man to provide United with some much-needed stability at the back. That, though, as this footage proves, never really came to fruition.

Maguire has put on more than a few ‘disasterclasses’ in his United career, but this particular gaffe is tough to beat.

As the Red Devils chase a top four finish in the Premier League this season, fans will be hoping their captain manages to avoid any repeat of this sort of calamity between now and the end of the campaign.