'We brought some joy on a sad day'

The club was deeply saddened by the news on Saturday that one of the greatest and most loved players in our history had passed away at the age of 86.

The iconic World Cup, European Cup and Ballon d'Or winner was a revered figurehead and a respected ambassador for Manchester United. 

The Reds paid tribute to Sir Bobby by laying a wreath of flowers on the Bramall Lane pitch and holding a minute's applause before our Premier League match against Sheffield United, where Erik ten Hag’s men also wore black armbands as a mark of respect.

Speaking after our 2-1 victory over the Blades, Maguire revealed the positive influence that Sir Bobby had on the United players.

“First and foremost, it’s a really sad day,” he told Sky Sports. “We obviously found out this afternoon and, preparing for a game, it hit us hard.

“Sir Bobby came into the changing room a lot after games and lit the place up. You could see the aura he brought to the dressing room and the amount of respect that the lads, the staff and the club have for him.”

Harry continued: “He’s an absolute legend of this club and a legend of football. We’re obviously delighted to win the game tonight but this is more than football and our thoughts go out to Sir Bobby’s family.

“He would always come into the changing room, to be fair to him, whether we had won or lost. It wasn’t one of them where he would just come in after we won games. But his presence was really felt within the dressing room.

“You always saw him around the club and he’s been a great ambassador for the club since he retired from football. We’ll miss him and of course the world will miss him. He was a great person and an amazing footballer but more importantly an amazing person.”

Our travelling fans in South Yorkshire chanted Sir Bobby’s name throughout the game, including after Diogo Dalot’s sensational second-half strike which clinched the three points.

Dalot felt the players did Sir Bobby and his family proud by winning the match.

“When we came to the game, we obviously wanted to contribute a little bit more,” our no.20 said.

“We know that it’s not easy to contribute to the family of Sir Bobby Charlton. But with a win, we gave a little bit of joy for a sad day. We are just happy with the win and I think we deserved it.

“Like I said, this is the contribution that we could have today and we could give today to the family. We are one family as United and we are all united in days like this. We suffer together and when we win we celebrate together and we celebrate on the pitch.”

Maguire was voted our Man of the Match by supporters after a solid defensive display against his former club.

He felt it wasn’t a vintage display from the Reds but the team got the job done after adapting to how Sheffield United had set up.

“I knew coming here, [and] I reiterated to the lads before the game, that it would be tough, especially in the first 20 minutes,” the centre-back explained.

“I think in the first 20 minutes they were the better team. They caught us by surprise with the way they were playing and the formation they were playing. But I felt like we adapted to it after they got the equaliser and I think in the second half we were really in control of the game. We had a lot of chances and hit the woodwork a couple of times.

“Listen, I know we can play a lot better than we did tonight, for sure. It wasn’t the perfect performance, but it was an important win. You’ve seen big teams play Sheffield United here this season and they have always been tight games, obviously apart from the last one against Newcastle.

“We know it’s a difficult place to come, but we’re delighted with the win and we move on now.”