Mourinho Hints Lingard Is Set For A New Role Under Him
Reuters / Peter Cziborra
Jose Mourinho has heaped praises on Jesse Lingard, and hinted at a possible new role for the 24-year-old after his man-of-the-match display against Swansea.
The midfielder was brilliant in the 2-0 win over the Swans, further enhancing his title as a ‘cup specialist,’ by scoring both goals to send United through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
The Englishman is usually played out wide, and is often brought on to inject more energy into the squad from the wings. However, Mourinho went for a different approach on Tuesday night, playing him more centrally as a playmaker in a 3-5-2 formation. After his superb display, it is fair to assume it won’t be the last time the United boss plays him in that position.
Mourinho told MUTV: “Jesse played well and played with a lot of freedom. We tried to give him good protection behind with the experience of Ander Herrera and strength of Scott McTominay.
“We played with two strikers with a lot of enthusiasm and it was a good dynamic. We are trying to defend our cup to the maximum we can and now we go to the quarter-finals. That’s it and we are happy.”
In his post-match interview, Lingard himself stated: “I feel great, it was a great team performance. I thought we controlled the game tactically to bounce back from the weekend. The last time [I scored a header] was on loan at Brighton against Leicester. It’s a different way of scoring for me but I enjoyed the moment.”
Manchester United fan, Wayne Rooney is his role model. Passionate writer who has written for several sites in the past. He’s also an aspiring pianist and creates background music for BlameFootball’s Youtube channel.