The 28-year-old endured a night to forget in Bern as his error led to Swiss outfit BSC Young Boys winning goal on matchday one of Manchester United’s Champions League campaign
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.
With the scores at 1-1 after 70 minutes, Lingard was brought into the match. Cristiano Ronaldo had put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in front of opening exchanges. Miami Nagamaleu and Lingard tied just past the hour mark.
The game was expected to settle down to a standard 1-1 draw. But Lingard’s stray backpass was picked up by Young Boys forward Theoson Siebatcheu. This allowed Lingard to place his effort in front of 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. We learn from our mistakes and move on.”
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 the 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.
Lingard is a substitute player for United, but despite Solskjaer clearly liking the player, Lingard has only made three substitution appearances at Old Trafford. However, he did score a goal at Newcastle.
Lingard is now a benchwarmer at Old Trafford, a far cry of last season’s Hammers glory. Lingard scored nine goals in 16 matches for David Moyes’ England side.
This weekend’s clash could have looked so very different for Lingard if he had made his switch to East London permanent in the summer, but United demanded £25m at the very least for the forward, a figure the Hammers were seemingly unwilling to to to pay.
That high-up in the West Ham hierarchy made no secret of their desire to bring Lingard back on a permanent basis in the summer, assistant manager Stuart Pearce, speaking at the tail-end of the summer window, told talkSPORT: “We would like him to come and join us. That has been an open secret. He was wonderful last year.
“The ball is in Manchester United’s court. They have signed him. He would be great to have with us.
Lingard will be returning to London Stadium in a Manchester United shirt to try and bounce back from Tuesday’s horror. However, the move did not materialize.