Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is excited to play alongside Raphael Varane and believes the natural winner mentality can help fuel their silverware searches this season.
Le Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad made an interrupted preseason and their absent players easy when they kicked off the 2021-22 campaign with a bang against the old enemies of Leeds on Saturday lunchtime.
Old Trafford’s first full house in 17 months was a memorable day as Bruno Fernandes’ hat trick resulted in a 5-1 win over Leeds on a day when fans unveiled their newest star.
Shut down
Manchester United’s Raphael Varane holds his shirt up on the pitch (Martin Rickett / PA)
PA
Manchester United’s Raphael Varane holds his shirt up on the pitch (Martin Rickett / PA)
United announced just before kick-off that they had finally completed signing Varane from Real Madrid, with the 28-year-old shown on the pitch before the side went amok.
“Getting players into this club, obviously of their caliber, is going to be really, really exciting,” United skipper Maguire told the PA news agency.
“Everyone in the squad is of course looking forward to working with him.
“I think one thing it does is increase our defensive options. We now have an amazing number of center-backs at this club, all international players who have all proven themselves in the Premier League.
“You saw again how well Victor (Lindelof) played today. Victor showed that not only today, but also in the last two seasons when I played with him.
“He’s an excellent footballer so, as I said, it’s great to have so many top central defenders to compete for places. It will make people keep pushing, pushing harder, and it’s exciting. “
Varane certainly takes United’s defensive quality to a new level and the 2018 world champion also brings a winning mentality to a club that wants to win its first silverware under Solskjaer.
I think he will bring this winning mentality to the club and he will also bring his footballing skills to Harry Maguire on Raphael Varane
“I think you saw what he won in his career,” said Maguire of the four-time Champions League winner.
“He’s played on some of the top teams – the French squad and the Real Madrid team – and he won absolutely everything.
“I think he will bring this winning mentality to the club and he will also bring his footballing skills to the club.
“As I said, it’s great for the squad to bring players. It lifts the squad, it’s great for competing for the squad – not just as a center-back, but in any position. We live from it, that’s how we play.
“At one of the largest clubs in the world, you don’t expect an easy ride and no competition for space.
“We know that we have to fight for titles and trophies at this club.
“We look at one step at a time, one game at a time. Every game is so important if you want to get where you want to go and be successful.
“But of course we want to fight for the big trophies and the title. That is the goal of this club.
“I think you’ve seen how much everyone has strengthened themselves over the summer and probably everyone will improve, but so have we.”
United added two elite players this summer, with Varane following Jadon Sancho into the club.
Old Trafford giants finally got their husband after signing £ 73million deal with Borussia Dortmund for the 21-year-old, who made his debut from the bank in the second half against Leeds.
“I think you saw the talent, ability, goals and assists in little glimpses,” said England team-mate Maguire. “He’s obviously going to be a top player.
“He’s young too, but he did a lot in the game. He brings this winning mentality with us, which is really important.
“But he’s an exceptional talent and I think he had a really stop-start preseason so I think that of course he’ll be working hard to get in shape over the next few weeks and he’ll be there soon.”
With Sancho’s improved fitness and the number of returning players, it’s no wonder Skipper Maguire thinks “there is a lot more to come from United”.
“It was amazing,” he said after playing to the first sold-out crowd at Old Trafford since March 2020. “Getting the fans back into the stadium is what football is all about.
“You could feel that before the game when you were warming up, even when setting up the game.
“That’s what we all strive for. We all want to play for the fans, we all want to score goals in front of the fans.
“I think it shows how much we missed her last season when you start today and see the atmosphere in the stadium.
“The perfect start against Leeds United, of course. We are very happy to be five behind them. “
Fernandes gave the hosts the lead at halftime, only Leeds right-back Luke Ayling equalized with a 25-yard stunner minutes after the break.
Shut down
Luke Ayling scored a stunning goal but it wasn’t meant to be Leeds day (Martin Rickett / PA)
PA
Luke Ayling scored a stunning goal but it wasn’t meant to be Leeds day (Martin Rickett / PA)
But Marcelo Bielsa’s men soon broke up and Fernandes completed a hat trick that was complemented by goals from Mason Greenwood and Fred.
“We were beaten here last year (6-2),” said Ayling. “It’s nothing new to us, we came back from it and did well until the end of last season.
“We’ll go back, look at it, bring some players back on the team and we’ll go again.”
Download the Belfast Telegraph app
Get quick and easy access to the latest Northern Ireland news, sports, business and opinions with the Belfast Telegraph App.
