Lingard Praises Reds' Resilience

Jesse Lingard hailed Manchester United’s resilience after the Reds advanced into the Europa League final following a 2-1 aggregate win over Celta Vigo in the semi-finals.

The second leg finished 1-1 at Old Trafford as Facundo Roncaglia scored after 85 minutes to cut out Marouane Fellaini’s early opener.

United held on to secure the aggregate win despite unfortunate scenes with just minutes left which saw Eric Bailly and Roncaglia both see red.

Following the altercation six minutes of injury time were added on which made for a tense end to the game and Lingard recognised the importance in United’s defensive work in the closing moments.

“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves,” he told MUTV. “We could have kept the ball better and we should have punished them early in the first half.

“The early goal settled the game down but when they equalised they put a bit of pressure on us at the end, but all season the group has been great at handling the last 10 minutes of matches.”

Former Manchester City striker John Guidetti had a chance to steal it for Celta with virtually the last kick of the game, but he was unable to steer his effort on target from six yards out.

“Luckily he didn’t make a good connection with it and the ref blew the whistle straight after," recalled Lingard. “That’s football and at the end of the day we’re through to the final and it’s massive for the club.

“It’s another trophy under our belt if we win and we have the confidence going into the game to go on and win.”

United will face Ajax in the final in Stockholm at the Friends Arena on 24 May, after the Dutch side beat Lyon 5-4 on aggregate. The Reds’ European campaign has seen trips to Spain, Belgium, Russia, France, Ukraine and the Netherlands and Lingard was keen to emphasise the journey the side have been on.

“We’ve come a long way and we’ve been all around the world playing different teams,” he said.  “But we’ve come out with the wins and we’ve ended up in the final which is massive. 

“The lads know what is at stake - any cup final is massive, but especially in this competition [because] it can get us into the Champions League which is where we belong.”