Jesse Looking To Build On England Debut

Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard is keen to use his successful England debut as a springboard - and bounce into Monday's blockbuster match against Liverpool at Anfield.

The Academy graduate was selected by Gareth Southgate for last Saturday's 2-0 win over Malta at Wembley and he completed another 90 minutes for the Three Lions in the subsequent 0-0 draw away to Slovenia.

The first cap in particular was a proud achievement for Lingard, who told MUTV: "It was an experience I’ll cherish and my family are over the moon as they know the hard work and dedication it’s taken for me to get there.

"Obviously I know Gareth Southgate well from time with the Under-21s, so I knew exactly what he wanted from me. It’s good for me to have Gareth there because he has faith in me and gives me the confidence to play and to play freely.

"Playing for my club week in, week out has helped me massively, so I need to continue that now.”

There could hardly be a bigger game for Lingard to continue his fruitful start to the campaign in than Monday's trip to Anfield and he admits the fixture was a hot topic between the United and Liverpool representatives in the England squad.

“Of course we spoke about it and both sets of players know that it’ll be an intense game,” Lingard said.
“I played there last season and it was a massive feeling to be part of the celebrations for Wayne’s winning goal. I’ve got the experience of playing and winning there, so hopefully I can show what I can do."

With both sides showing some excellent form in the early stages of the season, emerging victorious on Monday will be no mean feat for Mourinho’s men. Lingard acknowledged that United will need to be fully prepared for the tough test that lies ahead.

“Liverpool have been in good form so far and have scored a lot of goals, which is something we need to be wary of,” Jesse assessed.
"It’ll be tough because they’ve got a lot talent in their group, but we know we’ve got talent in our own ranks and we’ll be pushing to win the game as it’s always good to get one over your rivals.”