Man United return to Premier League action at the weekend as they face fierce rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
Harry Maguire has said Manchester United play their best football when their performances have energy and intensity.
Maguire has slipped down the centre-back pecking order at Old Trafford this season, but he was given a start, alongside his former regular partner Victor Lindelof, against West Ham in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night.
Although United looked set for a cup exit, they won the game 3-1 thanks to an improved display in the final 30 minutes of the game, which saw two late goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Fred to ensure progression to the quarter-final.
Speaking after the full-time whistle, Maguire identified the increase in “energy and intensity” as the reason for the comeback and he suggested those traits will be key for the Reds’ match against Liverpool at Anfield this weekend.
“I think when you play at this club, you’ve got to play with energy and intensity and I think the games when we fall behind on that, we lose and we don’t play well, so we have to find that energy and enjoyment in football,” Maguire told MUTV.
“You’ve seen with Marcus [Rashford] this year, he’s playing with so much intensity in his game, a big smile on his face and it makes the difference, it really does. It brings that tempo you can play at to win matches in the Premier League.
“I think it’s one of the first you look for on the fixture list [Liverpool]. We know how much it means to our fans, we gave them a bit to smile about in recent weeks and come Sunday night, that’s what we want to do.
“We want to make them happy and proud and we need to do that by putting in a big performance. We’re ready to go there and win the game. We know it will be tough but we’ll be supported by lots of fans – we’re looking forward to it.”
SOURCE: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
