Lingard: Herrera Was Key To Chelsea Win

Jesse Lingard has paid tribute to Ander Herrera after his Man of the Match display in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Chelsea, suggesting the Spaniard led by example on Sunday.

Herrera was the recipient of a controversial red card during the first half of last month’s Emirates FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Stamford Bridge and the midfielder spoke of his frustration in an exclusive interview with the official matchday programme, United Review, ahead of kick-off at the weekend. Thankfully, he channelled that emotion into a positive and produced a virtuoso display against the Blues.

Ander set up Marcus Rashford to score the opening goal on seven minutes, doubled the lead with a deflected finish after half-time and even man-marked PFA Player of the Year nominee Eden Hazard out of the match. As Lingard told MUTV, his 27-year-old team-mate was central to the victory.

“He put in a real shift,” Jesse said of Herrera after his own 60-minute outing. “He was all over the place and we need individuals to do their jobs so that it comes together as a collective performance.

“It was tough, especially for the forward players doing all the running, but you know you have to put in a shift to get a good performance. We knew we had to close them down.

“We couldn’t let the defenders bring the ball out and play and we knew if we did that then the players behind us, the midfield and defence, would do their job of marking the players behind us.”

United’s big ambition this season is to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and there are still two ways of doing that, with the Reds currently fifth in the Premier League and well-placed in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Lingard feels both avenues are a distinct possibility.

“Yeah we are capable,” he said. “Manchester United is a big club with history and it expects trophies. We have seen the atmosphere behind us and we know we are capable of picking up good results against whoever we play.”

On Thursday’s European tie against Anderlecht, he said: “We’re going to be ready for that. You have seen that we can rotate the squad and we will make sure everyone is ready and raring to go.”