LINGARD TO THE RESCUE AGAIN
Wasteful United leave it late to finally break Carson’s resistance
IT’S fair to say the news that Jesse Lingard had signed a new £100,000a-week contract at Manchester United in April was not met with universal acclaim around Old Trafford.
There were those who questioned whether he had the calibre to be a United player earning those kind of figures.
Nine months on and Lingard is answering his critics in emphatic fashion. Just as United were facing an awkward FA Cup replay to add to their heavy fixture list, the England midfielder came up with his eighth goal in 10 games to end Derby’s resistance last night.
There were nearly 84 minutes on the clock when substitute Romelu Lukaku nudged a pass to his young team-mate. Lingard took the slightest of touches and then took aim. It was an exquisite volley, steered beyond Scott Carson who had done more than anyone to keep United out.
It will also have come as some relief to Lingard’s close friend Marcus Rashford who had just departed the stage after hitting the post twice.
Lukaku made sure of victory in the 90th minute on his return from a head injury as the Championship side pressed for an equaliser.
The Belgian controlled Pogba’s clearance to halfway and turned to run at the Derby goal.
He had Anthony Martial in support and played a one-two with the Frenchman before beating Carson with a shot the keeper just failed to keep out.
Mourinho had claimed that this was the equivalent of a match between two Premier League teams, and accordingly he put out a strong team led by Paul Pogba.
The Frenchman ran the game at times when he wasn’t trying to be a little too elaborate, and United should have been ahead in a first half that brought several chances for Rashford, who started up front in place of Lukaku.
By far the best of them came his way in the 35th minute when Derby were enjoying arguably their best spell of the game.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan popped up on the opposite left flank and curled a cross to edge of the sixyard box where Rashford was unmarked and looked certain to score. He tried to glance his header into the corner and succeeded only in directing it against the foot of the post.
Juan Mata presented the 20year-old England striker with another opportunity moments later, but this header was too straight and flew into the hands of goalkeeper Scott Carson.
Rashford will have been disappointed that he did not hit the target with two earlier efforts in quick succession, firing wide of the far post before firing over the bar from 10 yards after tricking his way past Marcus Olsson.
United certainly played some neat football, even though it continues to lack pace and penetration. Pogba created an early chance for Lingard, who lifted his shot over, before having two attempts of his own inside the opening 10 minutes.
The half ended with United’s £89million man curling a free-kick from 25 yards which brought a smart save from Carson, who had produced even better to tip away another free-kick from Mata in the 21st minute after the little Spaniard had been bodychecked by Alex Pearce.
Derby struggled to get out of their own half for quarter of an hour but grew in confidence as the game wore on. They went closest to a goal in the 22nd minute when the ball was worked forward to Johnny Russell on the left.
His cross forced Olsson to tilt his head at a difficult angle but the defender still managed to direct the ball just under the United bar, forcing Sergio Romero to tip the ball over acrobatically.
Mourinho sent on Lukaku for the second half in place of Mkhitaryan who once again looked like a player who knows he could be on his way out this month.
It meant Rashford switching to the left after fluffing his lines on centre stage, but it was Derby who had the first chance after the restart. Luke Shaw was penalised for barging over Tom Lawrence whose freekick was cleared to Tom Huddlestone on the edge of the a box. It’s hard to say if the former Tottenham midfielder’s powerful effort was destined for the goal, but Shaw got his head in the way to clear.
Lawrence also forced Romero into a sprawling save with a shot from distance while Pogba twice fired inches wide of the far post.
Rashford rifled a shot against post again in the 71st minute and Pogba aimed wide of an open goal after Carson had saved Lingard’s effort before the late breakthrough finally came.