Harry Maguire reacts after making his debut for Manchester United

England international Harry Maguire has expressed his pleasure after starting his debut game for Manchester United. The 26-year-old was pitted alongside Victor Lindelof at the heart of the club’s defence and he produced an effective performance to ward off the challenge from Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.

The Blues were the better team for the first hour of the game but United made the most of their chances on the counter-attack to secure a comfortable 4-0 triumph in the end. Speaking after the encounter, Maguire was pleased to have started his career on a strong note after getting the better of one of their top-four rivals.

He said: “It is a great start for myself and the team. We rode our luck a bit first half but second, we were much more ourselves. It is the first game at Old Trafford, so I think there were nerves. We gave the ball away in dangerous areas. We moved it nicely second half and our front three are so dangerous on the break.”

Maguire’s move to Old Trafford had been questioned by a number of pundits amid the hefty £80m price tag involved. However, he has managed to make himself an instant hit with the fans after standing out during the league opener against the Blues, where he was able to keep out the threat from Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud with good effect.

Elsewhere, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James also made a strong impression in their maiden games for the club. While Wan-Bissaka made a number of crucial tackles and interceptions through the curtain-raiser, James announced himself from the bench with a goal to complete the 4-0 thrashing of the west London giants. United’s next game will come against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the road on August 19. The club will be aiming for the victory after failing to outsmart the west Midlands outfit last season.