Manchester United vs Chelsea result: Harry Maguire’s craft and cunning steadies Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ship

Harry Maguire’s first touch of the ball as a Manchester United player in the attacking third of the pitch took him by surprise. A free-kick bounced his way, then bobbled between his legs inside the penalty area. As he attempted to control the ball, he was closed down and his cross, once it eventually came, rebounded off the defender. It had all come a little too quickly for the world’s most expensive defender. A rush of blood to the Slabhead, if you will.

But United did not part with all that money for Maguire’s composure inside the opposing penalty area. They paid, instead, for the calm he showed when circulating possession in his own box, allowing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to play out from the back. They paid for the interception on Jorginho’s slick through ball just before the half-hour mark, too. And they paid for the contentious challenge on Tammy Abraham, when he wrestled Chelsea’s young and perhaps-too-innocent striker off the ball, kick-starting a move that ended in United’s crucial second goal.

It was the type of challenge that on another day, with another official in the video control room, Maguire may have been punished for. By that, I mean it was probably a foul. If the decision goes against Maguire, perhaps his debut does not end with a United clean sheet, perhaps not with all three points either. The 4-0 scoreline does not illustrate how evenly-contested this chaotic game often was. Nor does it reflect that there remain as many questions about Solskjaer’s United as Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.

And yet those questions can wait, thanks in part to Maguire’s deft use of the dark arts. United have lacked a defender willing to ride his luck with the officials. There is not much about Chris Smalling that screams Machiavellian mastermind. Marcos Rojo might push the envelope. It is often best if Phil Jones just sticks to the basics.

But during that short spell of Chelsea pressure and amid a little United unease, Maguire jsut about stayed on the right side of the law in his tussle with Abraham, allowing the ball to be released to Marcus Rashford, with Anthony Martial ultimately finishing the move off. United were always likely to claim victory from there and their £80m acquisition could say he had already paid back a small proportion of that fee.

There was plenty more to admire about Maguire’s performance: more clearances, interceptions and blocks than any other player. Abraham may disagree, but he did not commit a single foul. There was even a chance created, showing he may well be an asset in the attacking third after all. In fact, it was a promising start for United’s debutants all round.

If anything, Solskjaer’s other expensive defensive signing was more immediately impressive. The highlight of Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s first outing at Old Trafford was an excellent recovery tackle on Ross Barkley which Old Trafford enthusiastically applauded. The young full-back has work to do if he is to contribute regularly in attack, but after United conceded more goals than in any previous Premier League season, the added defensive solidity is appreciated.

Daniel James, meanwhile, will take more attention than the other two, opening his United career with a goal. It was one born out of the type of fast, unforgiving counter-attacks which his pace is designed to exploit. James was somewhere near his own half-way line when Paul Pogba realised that he needed a passing option. Just as Pogba began to be closed down, James had caught up with him, ready to receive a neat through ball and slip a finish past Kepa.

That was the fourth goal in a thrashing that few predicted, particularly given how easily Chelsea found gaps in United’s midfield during the first half. Maguire’s presence could do little to prevent Jorginho from dictating the play 30 yards in front of him. With Andreas Pereira floating in a No 10 role, United were outnumbered in the middle of the park. It is something Solskjaer should look at, despite the margin of victory. Against more fully-formed opponents than Lampard’s Chelsea, it could prove a problem.

But Maguire’s presence was enough to win that tussle with Abraham and, within seconds, turn defence into attack. That is major part of why he was Solskjaer’s number one target from the start of the summer transfer window, right up until confirmation of his signing last week. You need those moments. Sometimes, they are enough to swing a contest. Occasionally, they turn a tight 1-0 win into an emphatic start to the new season.