Lingard promises more from United hero Rashford
Friday, February 26, 2016
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Jesse Lingard told UEFA.com that fellow Manchester United academy graduate Marcus Rashford "will cause even more problems for defenders" in future following his dream debut.
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As debuts go, Marcus Rashford's for Manchester United will take some beating.
The 18-year-old local-born striker, who had never previously made a senior appearance, was thrust into United's starting XI for the round of 32 second leg against Midtjylland only after Anthony Martial suffered an injury in the warm-up. He scored twice as Louis van Gaal's men brushed off their Danish visitors to reach the last 32.
Though Rashford was the undoubted star, United had another player – 19-year-old Joe Riley – making his first start for the club, while Regan Poole, 17, also came on late on to make his maiden appearance for the club. Fellow academy product Jesse Lingard was in the side, too, while Guillermo Varela was only featuring for United for the sixth time. Paddy McNair, Donald Love and Andreas Pereira were among the other youngsters involved in a hugely inexperienced matchday squad.
Jesse Lingard, Manchester United forward
I already knew that [Rashford] was going to make the grade. He's very talented, very quick, very strong and he's still growing. Although he's tall already, he's going to fill out eventually and cause even more problems for defenders.
It was Joe Riley's first game at Old Trafford and Marcus's debut as well and we couldn't have asked for more from them. There were loads who came through the youth ranks playing tonight and a few on the bench as well. It was a massive step for the United academy.
Louis van Gaal, Manchester United manager
[Rashford] was unbelievable. I think he ran too much in the first half, across the whole pitch, and I think a striker has to play more in the width of the goal. I told him at half-time that he would score if he did that, and he scored twice, so it's fantastic!
Danny Blind, Manchester United defender
When you have a lot of injuries, you sometimes need to bring in youngsters. I thought they did very well and they picked it up very quickly. It was great to see them adapt that quickly to European football and I'm happy with their performance.
