Manchester City 3-1 Manchester United: Hits & Flops from the game

Flop: Jesse Lingard

Ineffective

Much like Rashford, Jesse Lingard too had an integral role to play in the game. From what it suggested by the first half, United’s players were instructed to press City’s midfielders and hound them off the ball whenever they had an opportunity to do so.

To play in a high-press setup, Lingard’s inclusion was of utmost importance. Not only is the local lad energetic, but his movements and the ability to create space for other forwards is quite unique too. However, he failed to impose his desirable impact on the attacking front.

Lingard’s pace and dribbling abilities are some good reasons to include him in the playing style that was expected from Mourinho’s team today. There were specific instances where the right-winger misplaced the final pass that could have led to a possible counter-attack.

He was too sloppy in possession at times and hence the much-needed delivery was missing from United’s perspective.

Though he contributed fairly at the defensive end, Lingard’s impact was actually missed on the attacking front. Benjamin Mendy’s instinctive tendency to stretch the play as soon as he receives the possession didn’t help Lingard either who was playing catchup with the French international for the majority of the time.