Manchester United defender, Harry Maguire, has set his sights on lifting the FA Cup with the Red Devils after he proved an unlikely goal hero in Saturday’s quarter-final clash with Norwich.
United made hard work of Premier League strugglers Norwich at Carrow Road, going ahead in the second half through Odion Ighalo only to be pegged back by Todd Cantwell 15 minutes from the end.
Maguire then stepped up in extra time to end the last-eight tie, jumping on a loose ball in the Norwich penalty area to beat Tim Krul with just minutes left to play before penalties loomed.
Saturday’s victory makes United the first side to seal a place in the FA Cup semi-finals and Maguire is keen to go all the way and lift the famous old trophy.
“It would mean everything,” the centre-back, who joined United from Leicester City in the summer of 2019, told BBC Sport after the final whistle.
“I joined this club to win trophies, it’s a great tournament and hopefully we play a lot better in the semi-final than tonight.”
Maguire’s late heroics aside, it was a far from vintage performance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, who struggled throughout against the relegation-threatened Canaries.
The Red Devils captain was not certain why his team failed to impress, having comfortably beaten Sheffield United 3-0 in midweek, but insisted that making it through to the semis was more important to United than the nature of their performance.
“It was a difficult game and we made hard work of it. We weren’t at our best, but that’s what happens in cup games sometimes,” he added.
“We had a tough game in the heat on Wednesday but we made changes so that shouldn’t be the reason. I can’t really put a finger on it at the moment, we’ll have to watch it back and see.
“We played a little slow and went through the middle a bit too much, we should have gone wide a lot more. We’re in the semi-final and that’s all that matters.”
Maguire is also hoping that his match-winning cameo in front of goal pushes him to score more often in United colours.
read also:Maguire: I’m really grateful to Sheffield Utd
“I’m always pleased when I chip in, especially when it’s a big result in the last minute of extra time,” he explained.
“I’m a bit disappointed that I’ve only scored three goals, it’s something I’m working on and looking to improve between now and the end of the season and hopefully I can carry that into next season.”
United and Maguire are back in action on Tuesday, when they visit Brighton in the Premier League.