Harry Maguire has explained why he was not ready to conduct the pre-match coin toss as he captained Manchester United for the first time against Partizan in the Europa League.
Maguire was handed the armband in the absence of Ashley Young and David de Gea in Belgrade, but when the Europa League anthem had been played, the centre-back was nowhere to be seen when the referee wanted to complete the pre-match formalities.
The officials were heard shouting for Maguire, who sheepishly jogged towards them to do the coin toss and shake hands with the Partizan captain.
But explaining the mix-up, Maguire tweeted after the game saying he was expecting to be needed in the centre circle, rather than on the touchline.
"Last time I did this you did the coin toss in the centre circle," he said. "It’s been a long time."
He added the hashtag '#LetMeOff' and two shrugging emojis.
In a separate tweet, Maguire called the opportunity to captain United an honour, saying: "A honour to lead the boys out tonight. More importantly an important away win and clean sheet."
