Maguire had two big chances from off the bench.
Manchester United were trailing by a goal against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday. The electronic board was raised in the 88th minute and Leny Yoro was replaced.
Harry Maguire came onto the pitch and sprinted straight up front. Ruben Amorim made his last throw of the dice and hoped Maguire could somehow contribute to a dramatic ending.
Maguire almost did exactly that, heading wide after a cross from Patrick Dorgu and having a separate effort cleared off the line. The 32-year-old fell to his knees in disbelief and placed his hands on his head, wondering how he'd been denied an equaliser in the last seconds of added time.
There were six minutes of injury time and Maguire accumulated more expected goals (0.6) in his nine-minute cameo than Rasmus Hojlund has managed in his last 15 appearances for United.
Maguire also had more shots than Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee did during the entire game, so his display from the bench as an auxiliary striker didn't cover his teammates in glory.
Amorim made the surprising decision to move Hojlund to the bench after his goal against Leicester. Hojlund also scored for Denmark against Portugal during the international break and it felt like the 22-year-old could be on the cusp of a goal spurt, but Zirkzee started down the middle.
There is eight months of evidence that says Zirkzee is not a striker and it took just a few minutes for Amorim to regret that decision, as he was forced to wave his arms to encourage Zirkzee into a higher position.
Hojlund came on for the second half and Manuel Ugarte made way. To be fair to Hojlund, he did more than Zirkzee within minutes of coming on, but he still didn't really look like scoring.
Maguire's shot was cleared off the line.
Although it was thought everything had already been written about Hojlund, Zirkzee and the lack of goals at United this season, Maguire looking more dangerous upfront wasn't a great look.
The game state must be considered, of course. United threw bodies forward and chased an equaliser when Maguire was introduced. Nottingham Forest dropped deep as they looked to see the 1-0 scoreline out and long, desperate balls were played forward, which played to Maguire's strengths.
However, Maguire's movement in the penalty was impressive and he was making runs - going into blind spots for Nottingham Forest's centre-backs - that top strikers would be proud of.
Maguire deserved credit for getting in the positions to score. He understands the types of movement that defenders struggle with because he's spent his career up against strikers.
In the last 10 years, there has been a trend of former goalkeepers becoming striker coaches, which is based on the same premise. Goalkeepers and centre-backs know centre-forwards better than anyone, and that's why Maguire can be such a dangerous option if he's played up front.
This is not an article advocating for Maguire to start up front in the Manchester derby, but it does ask further questions of Hojlund and Zirkzee, who have both been heavily scrutinised.
While there is no denying the service to the pair hasn't been good enough this term and United must create more chances, they often don't give themselves the best chance of scoring.
Maguire provided presence against Nottingham Forest and that is something the pair can lack.