NO MORE SLIP-UPS
Lingard sets target in bid to catch City
JESSE LINGARD admits Manchester United cannot afford to lose another game this season if they are to catch Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders are 11 points clear of secondplaced United and looking likely to blow everyone away on the back of an astonishing 16-game winning streak.
But Lingard says United must somehow find a way to do even better if they are to stand any chance of overhauling their bitter rivals.
Lingard said: “I think in any other season we would be top of the table with the points we have.
“So as long as we keep winning games that’s the most important thing and we will then see where we are.
“Do we need to win every game to catch them? Probably, but we will take each game as it comes.
“All we can do is just concentrate on the next game and see where we are at the end of the season.
“With the squad we have, we have to always believe in each game. Some games we will play badly and win and sometimes we will play well and lose. It’s one of the hazards of football.
“We’re doing very well on the whole at the moment. Keep that up and then see where we are at the end of the season.”
Lingard is certainly playing his part in United’s improbable chase with four goals in the last five games.
Confident
The 25-year-old, who celebrated his birthday at the weekend, says Sunday’s 2-1 win at West Brom and the midweek victory over Bournemouth, were just the ticket after their derby defeat by City the previous weekend.
Lingard’s tally of seven goals has already taken him past his previous best in a season and he’s confident of getting more.
“Obviously playing further forward you are going to get more goals and create chances also, so to play there with Romelu we are getting that understanding now,” he said.
“I’ve played there when I was younger and when I got to the reserves I played more on the left or the right just for my development.
“You get on the ball a lot more and you can make things happen more. You can obviously play closer to the main striker and get the bits off him.”