Harry Maguire reacts to Manchester United's Sheffield defeat, says 'missed spark'

Manchester United's Harry Maguire expressed disappointment after losing to Sheffield United in the Premier League clash on Thursday. Sheffield succeeded in registering a 2-1 win at Old Trafford despite Maguire having revived Red Devils' chances by scoring an equaliser in the 64th minute.

'Not good enough': Harry Maguire

"Not good enough. We didn't perform to a level we've been playing at. We didn't play at an intensity that we've played at. We haven't created enough to win the game," the club's official website quoted Maguire as saying.

At the same time, the English center-back admitted that a little spark and inspiration was missing which cost them the game.

"Well, we have great belief. At half-time, we knew. We knew we didn't perform well in the first half, but we had a belief that if we scored the next goal, we could go on to win the game. We scored the next goal. It was an important goal, and we never found anything extra to push -- that little spark or inspiration. Something was missing," he said.

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Manchester United stunned by the bottom-placed Sheffield United

Both teams succeeded in keeping each other at bay for the first 20 minutes after which Sheffield and English defender Kean Bryan ended up breaking the deadlock in the 23rd minute. The visitors then dominated the proceedings throughout the first half without conceding a single goal and also managed to make some impact in the second half as well before Maguire scored a much-needed equaliser for the home team in the 64th minute.

Just when Man United heaved a sigh of relief, their hopes were shattered when Scottish right winger Oliver Burke found the back of the net in the 74th minute after which the Sheffield players ensured that they did not allow the Red Devils to stage a comeback in the dying minutes of the contest. 

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Manchester United are now at the second spot in the EPL points table with 12 wins from 20 matches and 40 points in their tally. They will next be seen in action against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, despite their upset win, Sheffield United continue to languish at the bottom with just two wins from 20 games and eight points. Manchester United's local rivals Manchester City occupy the 'Numero Uno' spot with 12 wins from 19 matches and 41 points in their tally. 

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(With ANI Inputs)