Man Utd v Spurs: Harry Maguire hauling down Luke Shaw in 2020 is still bizarre

October 4, 2020. Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs’ biggest ever win at Old Trafford and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s heaviest defeat as United boss.

It’s not a match that any Red Devils fan will remember fondly, with United putting on one of their worst displays in many years. Perhaps the only saving grace is that coronavirus restrictions in place at the time meant none of their supporters had to suffer through it in person.

The scoreline itself tells you all you need to know about just how poor Solskjaer’s outfit were on the day. However, despite the thumping nature of their eventual loss, United actually took the lead inside two minutes at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

Bruno Fernandes’ penalty, won by Anthony Martial, was a sole bright spot for United – who lost their advantage in comical fashion just moments afterwards.

Tanguy Ndombele pounced to fire the ball home from close range, taking full advantage of a bizarre defensive mix-up between Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw in the United penalty area.

To be fair, though, it’s tough to put too much of the blame on Shaw’s shoulders as Maguire inexplicably appears to haul his defensive partner to the ground – just as the England left-back is preparing to clear the ball to safety.

Only Maguire will know why he chose to drag his colleague away from the ball at such a key moment, but there’s surely no way of explaining away such a bizarre error in any case.

You can check it out for yourself below.

Harry Maguire dragging Shaw away from the ball is the funniest thing you’ll see today… pic.twitter.com/RMPkPhTUxq

Maguire’s mistake set the tone for a catastrophic first period for United. Son Heung-min grabbed a second for the visitors on seven minutes, before the home side were