Maguire writes his name into United folklore

With six minutes left of normal time, plus over eight more in addition it must be noted, Bruno Fernandes volleyed the ball into the danger zone and the sense of anticipation appeared to linger. Front of the queue to leave his mark in the history of this fabled fixture between the two biggest rivals in English football was, predictably, the man for such occasions.

Maguire's expert nodded finish past Giorgi Mamardashvili capped a superb individual and team display against Liverpool that earned three points and a first win at Anfield since 2016, moving us two points behind Arne Slot's champions in the table.

Yet it means an awful lot more than that.

In the aftermath, Harry spoke about seeing an iconic strike in the fixture replayed over and over again, something we were all aware of.

"I have seen a lot of Juan Mata's goal this week," he said. "Hopefully, in some years, people will be looking at my header."

When we were building up to the Sunday showdown, we were talking about how centre-backs had made their mark on this game in the past. Steve Bruce headed home the opener in 3-3 draw in 1994.

His partner Gary Pallister scored twice, three years later, in a key victory en route to the title, and who can forget John O'Shea, admittedly coming on for Anderson in midfield that day, bagging the dramatic late winner in 2007? 

Lisandro Martinez fired a rocket in the 2-2 draw back in January and now it is Maguire's time to take the acclaim.

Harry is right to flag the fact that his header will be replayed many times. It will. It is a moment that will always be remembered when we talk about the historic fixture.

The context is this is a player who has had to deal with so much criticism and overcome it to emerge as a real favourite with the fans. 

Having signed from Leicester City in 2019, he had to endure question marks over the size of the fee from the outset but his ability should never have been doubted. Dominant in the air at both ends, and one of those centre-backs who just loves the art of defending, when your backs are against the wall, he is a reassuring presence and always up for the fight.

We probably thought the goal that Harry would always be remembered for was that header in the unbelievable comeback against Lyon last season, at Old Trafford.

This is somebody who often comes up clutch and now he is one of the rare breed who have a late winner at Anfield to his name, ensuring an enduring legacy among the Reds faithful.

And, you know what, he deserves it. Maguire is, and has been, a top-quality Premier League defender whose contribution, I fear, has been underrated by many outside of United.

When the ball gets played into the box, there really is nobody else you would rather get his head onto it.

I sincerely hope, and believe, there will be many more memorable moments ahead for the 32-year-old in the United shirt. But, regardless, this goal will form a big part of his legacy here and why, for all the sniping in the media from day one, he will be viewed in the future as a successful signing by the club.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.