Harry Maguire praises the cameo off the bench from Christian Eriksen against Everton
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has praised the cameo off the bench from Christian Eriksen against Everton on Saturday.
Eriksen, who has been out injured since late January due to an ankle injury following a bad tackle from Reading striker Andy Carroll, returned to full fitness recently and came off the bench this weekend.
The Danish international came on in the 77th minute and helped the team see out the 2-0 lead with minimum fuss. He showed great touch and passing ability even when being out of the game for so long.
Praising his cameo appearance, here’s Maguire (h/t Manchester Evening News)
“It was front foot, numerous chances, we controlled the game, we played in their half and the counter press was excellent. the game should be done and I can stand here and say it was comfortable, although it was a controlled performance.
“I think the second half they didn’t have a chance. Christian [Eriksen] came on the pitch and it was really good to see him coming on, taking the ball and he took the sting out of the game, which I felt was really important at the time.”
With Casemiro also not playing due to the suspension he was serving following the red card against Southampton (this was the last game of that), Erik ten Hag had to resort to playing Bruno Fernandes in the deeper midfield role alongside Scott McTominay.
Although the Portugal international did well there, the return of Casemiro from suspension and Eriksen from injury would give the manager plenty of options to choose his midfield combinations from.
With games coming thick and fast in the remaining three competitions, having more options would be key in rotating players in the engine room of the side.
Moreover, having seen Marcus Rashford go off injured on Saturday with a suspected groin injury, ten Hag may need both Eriksen and Fernandes to add creativity and goals from midfield.
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United’s next game is the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final tie against Sevilla at Old Trafford. A healthy lead taken in the first game would be good to carry to Spain in the following week. The next league game is away to Nottingham Forest, which won’t be easy considering what they are fighting for.
