Harry Maguire loves what he has seen from Manchester United summer signing Senne Lammens, trying not to get too carried away on the goalkeeper’s talents.
The 23-year-old arrived from Royal Antwerp at the end of the summer transfer in an £18m deal.
The Red Devils were looking for a new stopper to replace the outgoing Andre Onana and the inexperienced Belgian seemed like a gamble.
However, he has been impressive since coming into the team, with his start against Liverpool just his second match for the club.
He earned good reviews for his debut against Sunderland and now Maguire is full of praise for him after his first trip to the daunting home of Liverpool.
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Manchester United came away from Anfield on Sunday with a 2-1 victory and the England centre-back was seriously talking up the Belgian ‘keeper.
‘I must say I am heavily impressed by Senne Lammens,’ said Maguire.
‘I don’t want to get carried away because he is playing in the position with the most pressure, it’s the most difficult position at Manchester United. But he’s got everything. Great personality.’
Manager Ruben Amorim will also be delighted with how his new goalkeeper is settling in, having warned fans not to get over excited with Peter Schmeichel comparisons after the 2-0 win over Sunderland.
Speaking ahead of the Liverpool game, Amorim said: ‘Senne did a great job [against Sunderland]. The first impression in this club is really important, to maintain the level is really important and difficult.
‘He is not Schmeichel. He is a young guy, he showed a lot of composure and the fans like him. He needs to show himself.’
Maguire was not only pleased with the man between the sticks, but with the effort and application of the whole side as they came away with a huge win from Merseyside.
Bryan Mbeumo gave the visitors the lead within two minutes which Cody Gakpo eventually cancelled out on 78 minutes.
It was the unlikely figure of Maguire who was United’s hero late on as he headed home the winner from a Bruno Fernandes ball into the box.
On his team’s success, he told the BBC: ‘Staying in the game when they scored that equaliser. Although they had a lot of pressure in the game in the second half and Gakpo hit the post, aside from that I don’t think they made that many chances and we felt pretty comfortable. Then they open us up with a well-worked goal.
Metro at the Match: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United
Metro at the Match returns to bring you all the analysis from the biggest games of the season.
Here are our team’s key takeaways from United’s dramatic win at Anfield:
Panic stations for Liverpool
Four losses on the bounce and a first home defeat to United in almost a decade should have alarm bells ringing on Merseyside. The season is still young, but Arne Slot’s chaotic side currently look a shadow of the well-oiled machine that cantered to the title last season. Ben Fleming – Sports Reporter
A turning point for Amorim’s tenure?
If beating newly-promoted Sunderland felt like a job-saver for Ruben Amorim, the dramatic win at Anfield felt like a defining and potentially transformational moment for the Old Trafford boss. A Liverpool winner felt inevitable once they finally broke United’s resistance but the visitors rallied superbly and snatched the three points themselves. Much of the talk will be about Liverpool’s fourth straight defeat but this was huge for Manchester United and perhaps the turning point in Amorim’s tenure. Louis Sealey, Deputy Sports Editor
Is Van Dijk beginning to slip?
Much has been made of Mohamed Salah’s slow start to the season, but is Virgil van Dijk also starting to show signs of his age? The Dutchman allowed Bryan Mbeumo to ghost in behind with ease after only a minute, in what is his second costly mistake in as many club games. Ben Fleming – Sports Reporter
Lammens takes to Anfield like a duck to water
Senne Lammens’ selection effectively confirmed his status as Ruben Amorim’s No. 1 after his solid debut against Sunderland. Wayne Rooney was among those questioning the £18m deal – especially as Gianluigi Donnarumma and Emiliano Martinez were available – but it’s looking like money well spent. Lammens denied £125m striker Alexander Isak in the first half and generally provides a more assuring presence in the United goal than either of Andre Onana or Altay Bayindir. Louis Sealey, Deputy Sports Editor
‘We could have really sunk our heads and gone under in that moment but we got together, and that is the most pleasing thing.
The crowd was right behind them, and our fans with what they have experienced in recent years must have been fearing the worst. To come back from that and score the winner was really important.’
Amorim added: ‘I am really happy for them [the players], they had great spirit, we should play better with the ball but the spirit of the team, that is the things we are always talking about. A good day for the fans but now let us focus.’