Lingard’s disastrous Man Utd cameo a slap ahead of weekend duel
Jesse Lingard suffered one of his lowest moments in a Manchester United shirt during the Red Devils’ first Champions League group stage game of the season.
The 28-year-old was brought into the fray just after the 70th minute with the scores level at 1-1, Cristiano Ronaldo putting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in front in the opening exchanges before Moumi Ngamaleu equalised just north of the hour mark.
The game appeared to be fizzling out to a standard 1-1 draw, but disaster struck for Lingard in added time as his stray backpass was latched on to by Young Boys forward Theoson Siebatcheu who duly placed his effort beyond the onrushing David De Gea.
The moment marked one of the worst substitute appearances in recent United history for Lingard, who had just six touches of the ball in 20 minutes worth of action, completing a feeble one pass in the process, losing possession five times.
Speaking after the game, he said: “Last night hurt. Every time I pull on the shirt, I hope people understand what it means to me.
“I always go out wanting to do the best for the club, the team, and the fans. I’m upset about my part in the defeat. Mistakes happen in football but we pick ourselves up and go again.”
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This weekend, Lingard – providing he is picked – will take on a few familiar faces at the London Stadium, marking his first return to West Ham since spending the latter half of last term in East London.
During his short stint with the Hammers, Lingard lit up the place, playing so well he actually forced his way back into the international fold as he was named in Gareth Southgate’s provisional squad for Euro 2020 before ultimately failing to make the final cut.
Despite Solskjaer clearly being a fan of the player, Lingard – who is some way down the attacking pecking order at Old Trafford, has only made three substitute appearances for United this season, though he did bag a goal in his most recent one at home to Newcastle.