Rijo Sam Daniel
Harry Maguire disagrees with two disallowed goals for Manchester United in Burnley draw
Harry Maguire was adamant that the two disallowed goals should have stood as Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley. His side lost the foothold over the fourth place in the Premier League table, as a result, with West Ham United leapfrogging them to take over the spot.
The match was a repeat of what happened against Middlesbrough in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Man United had a great first half while the poor second-half display saw them drop points to a struggling underdog. The visitors did put the ball in the net a couple of times, but they were ruled out following VAR’s intervention.
Speaking in the post-match interview with BT Sport (h/t Manchester United official website), Maguire has expressed his doubts about the reason for calling back both goals. He mentioned that the first goal was not interference of play since Jay Rodriguez could not have duelled with Raphael Varane. He also added that Paul Pogba did not commit a foul on Erik Pieters for the second disallowed goal as well.
“It wasn’t a foul, he said, but he’s given it offside, interfering with the play. I actually made my run early because I mistimed my run and I just tried to get back onside. It did end up being a little bit of a block but, I think it was Rodriguez who I blocked, I don’t think he would’ve been heading the ball and affecting the goal which Rapha scored.”
“I think that’s definitely not a foul [pogba’s foul on Pieters].”
Another refereeing decision
It is still baffling how there is no room for personal interpretation and pure logic in modern football. It is impossible to put all outcomes under definite categories since many factors come into play during games. That is the reason why the handball and offside rules, for example, have seen changes at irregular intervals recently.
In the first case, the 28-year-old was definitely offside but he did not directly interfere with the play involving Varane. Rodriguez was behind the Frenchman, which means that he could not challenge in the aerial duel that resulted in the goal. As such, it does not make sense to label it as an obstruction of play.
Looking at Pogba’s supposed foul on Pieters, both of them were not in contention to play the ball anyway. Moreover, it was too soft to be called a foul as the Clarets star made the most of it in the end. However, the team could have simply put this match to bed regardless of these refereeing decisions.
The second half performance was a sharp contrast to how Ralf Rangnick’s side played in the opening 45 minutes. We must be more consistent moving forward by ensuring we do not lose control during certain phases. Champions League qualification for next season is something we simply cannot miss out so the team should look towards working on their mistakes.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United register Phil Jones in Champions League squad for the knockout rounds
- David Moyes reiterates West Ham United stance on Manchester United transfer target Declan Rice
- Leeds United winger Raphinha addresses links to Manchester United and other PL clubs
Maguire, for one, is a player that must improve at an individual level. The way he was beaten for Burnley’s goal was almost comical and seeing your team’s leader underperform is sure to affect the morale of those around him.
Sean Dyche’s team currently have 1 league win all season and we are past the first week of February. There is no excuse for us to drop points to them and it seems that the problem at this club may have been down to reasons that exceed just the meagre silhouette of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
