Harry Maguire roped into Dayot Upamecano embarrassment by savage commentator

Dayot Upamecano failed to coat himself in glory across two legs as Bayern Munich were dumped out of the Champions League, earning comparisons to Manchester United misfit Harry Maguire

08:11, 20 Apr 2023Updated 08:21, 20 Apr 2023

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire found himself dragged into the Champions League contest between Manchester City and Bayern Munich despite not featuring in this season's tournament.

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Old Trafford's club captain has earned a reputation for committing hapless and at times unfortunate errors since joining the Red Devils in 2019. An injury-time own-goal equaliser on Sevilla's behalf in their recent Europa League draw was the latest in a litany of mistakes.

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Bayern centre-back Dayot Upamecano didn't quite put the ball in the back of his own net, but his own profile took a serious hit across two quarter-final legs against City. And it was during Wednesday's 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena that one savage commentator compared the France international with his English counterpart.

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Fans could hardly believe their ears as a beIN Sports shot-caller dubbed Bayern's £37million man 'UpaMaguire' as he passed the ball. The score was tied in the 85th minute at the time, by which point Upamecano had already slipped to allow Erling Haaland's 16th goal in nine matches, given away a penalty and been sent off for taking out the last man (though that was rescinded for an offside flag).

Algerian commentator Hafid Al Daraji was understood to be the man behind the moniker, which is said with a completely straight face. The same couldn't be said for those hearing the nickname online as fans reacted en masse.

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Dayot Upamecano earned comparisons to Harry Maguire during Bayern's Champions League exit(Image: DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

"No way the commentator called him UpaMaguire," posted one commenter in disbelief, while cry-laughing emojis were a frequent fixture in the reply sections. Another attested to this not being Al Daraji's first Maguire-based critique as one fan wrote: "This commentator is always laughing out loud at Maguire whenever I watch Manchester United."

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Upamecano's error in the first leg led to Bernardo Silva doubling City's lead en route to a 3-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium. Pundits and supporters alike wondered if the former RB Leipzig defender would keep his place for the second salvo, but manager Thomas Tuchel kept the faith in the under-fire 24-year-old.

Harry Maguire's reputation has grown steadily more calamitous in almost four years at Old Trafford(Image: Peter Powell/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

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Maguire, 30, has come in for similar scrutiny and fallen down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag, who has prioritised Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez as his central pairing of choice. Even left-back Luke Shaw has arguably looked more assured playing as a makeshift starter at the core of United's defence.

Despite there being no shortage of jokes at his expense in recent years, even Maguire will have been surprised to hear his name pop up during Wednesday's Champions League action.

'UpaMaguire' may not achieve Oxford Dictionary status anytime soon, but it's another sign as to how the Englishman's star has plummeted in Manchester.

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