Manchester United need more confidence on the ball in order to take maximum points from matches, according to Harry Maguire.


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The England international partnered Victor Lindelof at the heart of United’s defence in the 1-1 draw at Southampton and while he believes the Reds were unlucky not to come away from St Mary’s with a first away win of the season, he admits his side could have controlled the contest better.

“It’s another game we deserved to win,” Maguire told reporters after the match. “We created the majority of the chances and we’ve dropped two points

We gave the ball away far too much. We need to improve on that and show arrogance on the ball and be confident on the ball.

“We’re Man United and we want to control games.”
On a personal level, it was another impressive performance from the summer signing, who brings a calming yet commanding presence to the back four.

With the hosts reduced to 10 men with 17 minutes left to play, following Kevin Danso’s second yellow card, United enjoyed the majority of possession in the final stages and surged forward in search of a winner that never came.

That energy and impetus of play is something Maguire wants to see more of for the duration of matches.

“That’s how we should play all the way through the game,” said the 26-year-old.

“Seeing the confidence of our players when they went down to 10 men, it seemed like everyone wanted the ball and wanted to create a chance.


“We did enough in those 15 minutes to score a goal, we just needed to be more clinical.”

United head into the international break with five points on the board from the opening four Premier League matches and are next in action against Maguire’s former club, Leicester City, at Old Trafford on Saturday 14 September.