Harry Maguire congratulates United's second goalscorer against Everton, Anthony Martial

Maguire: We thoroughly deserved the win

Wednesday 23 December 2020 23:45

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire believed the best team won in our 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Everton.

It took until the 88th minute for the deadlock to be broken at Goodison Park, when Edinson Cavani struck a sweet left-footed finish from the edge of the box, before Anthony Martial added a second goal in stoppage time from close range.

United now face the prospect of a Manchester derby in the last four after the Reds were drawn against local rivals Manchester City.

“It’s always a tough place to come,” said Harry, when speaking to Sky Sports after the game.

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“They had a few fans in the stadium which gave it a little bit of an atmosphere, but we controlled the game throughout I felt.

“Obviously, they were going to be a threat from set plays and a few crosses, but I think we thoroughly deserved the win and I’m pleased we got it in the end rather than taking it to penalties.”

Asked about United’s overall display, Maguire reflected: “I thought it was an excellent performance, we started the game really well. We should have been leading after 20 minutes. It should have been probably out of sight, we had three, four great chances and we’ve got to be a little more clinical.

“But we kept going, we kept digging in. We felt like another chance would come and Edison’s put a great finish in and we’ve managed to seal the win and go through to the next round - which is the most important thing.”

The result was all but decided by Cavani’s wonderful strike late on, but despite it being from distance on his weaker foot, Harry wasn’t surprised to see his team-mate find the net.

“We know he does that, we see it week in, week out in training. He obviously had a little injury which has kept him out from the previous games, so it’s good to have him back.

“You can see what he’s about, he’s been a top striker throughout his career – so it’s great to have him around the place."

Having repeated the feat from the previous season of getting to the last four of the Carabao Cup, our captain is eager to see the club take the ultimate step this time around.

“We play for Manchester United, we’re expected to win trophies. We got to three semi-finals last year, this year we’ve reached our first semi-final in our first competition.

"It’s important to reach these big games, but we need to now start winning the big games, like the semi-finals and lift trophies for this club.”

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