Porto 3-3 Man Utd: How Harry Maguire became United's unlikely super sub
"Unlikely Hero: Maguire's Strange Substitution"
Photo credit: Getty Images
With just 11 minutes left in the match, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans were subbed in as Manchester United sought to score a last-minute goal against Porto.
As Manchester United found themselves trailing 3-2, teetering on the brink of another painful loss for their beleaguered manager Erik ten Hag, he opted to make some substitutions from his bench.
Who did he believe could score a late equalizer for his team? Which player could step up like Mark Robins did for his?
As the match approached the 80-minute mark, Ten Hag responded in a surprising and unorthodox way.
Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt were substituted, making way for defenders Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire.
"This is the most unusual change," remarked former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson on BBC Radio 5 Live when the substitution was announced. "Manchester United is trying to turn the game around with just 12 minutes left!"
Many of you reached out to us to express similar feelings as well...
Mike: Seriously, Ten Hag? You're trailing 3-2 and you decide to put in two defenders? Are you trying to save your job?
Kevan: It's absurd. Ten Hag really lacks managerial insight. He replaces two defenders with two more defenders as substitutes.
GG: Bringing on Maguire and Evans when we're trailing by a goal with just 10 minutes to go. Is Ten Hag really trying to get himself fired?!!
Did Ten Hag possess information that the rest of us were unaware of?
"Maguire Saves Ten Hag's Job"
"We wondered, 'Why is he substituting in Maguire and Evans?' And now we see why."
Robinson expressed his excitement just after England's defender Maguire connected with Christian Eriksen's corner in the 91st minute, sending a powerful header past Porto's goalkeeper, Diogo Costa.
The score was tied at 3-3. This brought a sense of relief to Ten Hag and the fans of United, especially after witnessing their captain, Bruno Fernandes, receive a red card for the second time within five days, just three minutes after Maguire and Evans entered the game.
David: Did Harry Maguire just rescue Erik ten Hag's position?
Scott: Ten Hag was rescued by the very player he took the captain's armband from and has been attempting to offload for the past two years!
Seb: I believe Maguire has played a key role in keeping Ten Hag employed. Once again, Manchester United displayed a lackluster performance.
Maguire openly acknowledged that, even though he made a critical save at the end, there were aspects of United's performance that were certainly concerning.
"When you're leading 2-0 in an away game, you really need to tighten up your defense, and there were just too many openings," the England player said to TNT Sport.
"We really need to work on this. To achieve success this season, we can't afford to keep allowing two goals in."
Why Was Rashford Substituted?
Porto and Man Utd ended in a 3-3 draw: We're confident we can address our defensive problems.
To be fair to Ten Hag, when he decided to bring Maguire onto the field, he didn't have many attacking players available on the bench to choose from.
Alejandro Garnacho came on at half-time to replace Marcus Rashford, which was unexpected since Rashford had already scored one goal and assisted another in the first half.
The manager for United explained that the change was solely to "refresh" his team ahead of their match against Aston Villa on Sunday.
However, it meant that he didn’t have many offensive options left for the second half, especially since wingers Antony and Joshua Zirkzee had already been substituted in just 10 minutes before Maguire and Evans.
As the two center-backs got ready to take the field, the visitors found themselves relying on 20-year-old midfielder Daniel Gore, who had only made two prior substitute appearances. They also had the more defensively-oriented Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer available.
Defender Victor Lindelof along with reserve goalkeepers Tom Heaton and Altay Bayindir were the only available substitutes, meaning Ten Hag didn’t have many options to choose from unless he was considering a surprising substitution like the one David James made in the past.
Premier League's Super Subs Shine In Europe
Replacements are playing an increasingly significant role in the sport, particularly now that teams are permitted to make five substitutions – which is half of the outfield players on the roster.
This season, the Premier League has witnessed a higher number of goals scored by substitutes than ever before, surpassing the previous record from last season.
Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran has netted five goals as a substitute across all competitions this season, four of which have been decisive. His standout moment came with a remarkable long-range shot that secured a 1-0 victory against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.
In Thursday's European matches, Tottenham, the Scottish team Hearts, and Irish champions Shamrock Rovers all scored significant goals from their substitutes.
Brennan Johnson scored a vital late goal for Tottenham in their 2-1 victory against Ferencvaros in the Europa League.
Yan Dhanda secured a last-minute victory for his team against Dinamo Minsk in the Conference League, scoring in the 94th minute. Meanwhile, Dylan Watts managed to level the score for Shamrock Rovers against APOEL with a goal during injury time.
This trend has also made its way into international football, as eight substitutes have netted crucial goals during Euro 2024. Notably, Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal scored the decisive goal in the final match against England.
