Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz names Man Utd star he ‘hates’ playing | Football
Fulham star Rodrigo Muniz has picked out Harry Maguire as his toughest opponent in the Premier League, admitting he ‘hates’ coming up against the Manchester United centre-back.
Muniz arrived at Craven Cottage from Flamengo back in 2021 and is enjoying his fifth season with the club this term having spent his second year on loan at Middlesbrough.
In that time, Muniz has racked up 29 goals and four assists in 128 appearances for the Cottagers while testing his wits against the very best defenders in the English game.
Injuries have hampered Muniz’s progress over the last two years, with a serious hamstring problem forcing the striker to miss a total of 15 matches last season.
The 25-year-old Brazilian now looks to have put those frustrations behind him at Fulham but faces stiff competition for minutes in Alvaro Arbeloa’s attack – meaning he has been limited only to substitute appearances this far in the Premier League.
He has, though, impressed when given the opportunity in the Carabao Cup, finding the net in each of Fulham’s victories over AFC Wimbledon and West Ham en route to the fourth round of this year’s competition.
‘This season is really important for me because I want to play, I need to play,’ Muniz told Score 90 in the YouTube channel’s ’24 Hours With a Pro Footballer’ series.
‘Last season was not good. I got injured and a lot of things happened last season.
‘There are no excuses this season.’
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Muniz helped Fulham win immediate promotion back to the Premier League back in the 2021/22 season, netting five times as the club pipped Bournemouth to the Championship title by two points.
‘I think the Championship is more physical,’ Muniz explained when asked to explain the difference between English football’s first and second tiers.
‘The Premier League is still physical but with more quality, you don’t have a lot of space to think.
‘You need to think so quick and because of this I think the best players in the world are in the Premier League.’
Asked to name his toughest opponent in the top flight, Muniz replied: ‘I think for me the worst to play is Maguire. Maguire is unbelievable.
‘All the time, he is like this [pushing] with you and when we play it’s a good fight because I’m strong and he’s strong.
‘But I hate to play against him.’
Winless Fulham have badly struggled at the start of the season under new head coach Arbeloa, sitting second-bottom in the table – above only Tottenham – with just two points to their name.
However, Arbeloa’s men will take encouragement from their spirited display against Maguire’s Manchester United last time out, with Matheus Cunha scoring late on to rescue a point for the visiting Red Devils.
Muniz and Co will look to get their first victory on the board this weekend when they head to Portman Road to take on fellow new boys Ipswich.
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