Smalling Delighted By Winning Goal

Chris Smalling expressed his delight at scoring Manchester United’s winning goal in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League.

The defender found himself in space six yards out to slide in a Juan Mata flick in the second half at Old Trafford, capping the Reds' comeback after Mata's penalty had cancelled out Daniel Caligiuri’s early opener.

Smalling told MUTV: "It was a great feeling and, with Juan, you never know what he’s going to do with those tricks and flicks; he does them every day in training. You just have to gamble.”

Relieved by United’s first win in Group B – after the defeat at PSV Eindhoven on matchday one – Smalling was still quick to identify areas for improvement, as the Reds withstood a late Wolfsburg rally.

"I think we made it difficult for ourselves and we could probably learn to manage and control games a little bit better in those last 10 minutes," he said.

"If you drop 10 yards deeper you invite that pressure. We held on and we deserved the three points. Our heads could have dropped after Memphis and Mata had very good chances but we kept attacking.”

Fit-again Phil Jones was a second-half substitute for Bastian Schweinsteiger and, with attentions now turning to Sunday’s tricky Barclays Premier League visit to Arsenal, Smalling was pleased to see his fellow England player back in contention.

"It’s great to see him back and Paddy [McNair] on the bench. It’s good to know we’ve got numbers because this next month is going to be crucial to our season: we’ve got some tough away games."

An international break follows league leaders United’s trip to north London, after which the Reds travel to Goodison Park to play Everton.