Lingard: Martial Gives Defenders Nightmares

Jesse Lingard hopes to see more of the same from his fellow Manchester United forward Anthony Martial in 2017/18, after praising the Frenchman's role in creating his opening goal against Real Madrid in Santa Clara on Sunday.

Moments before half-time, Lingard was perfectly placed to finish off a move in which Martial took on four or five defenders on the left-hand byline before selflessly cutting the ball back.

"It was great," acknowledged the scorer in his pitchside MUTV interview. "Anthony's got great feet when it comes to close control and he's got the confidence to do it in a game. It's a nightmare for defenders. Luckily I've got myself into space at the back post, got away from my man and then put it away."

The Reds went into the interval at Levi's Stadium with a deserved 1-0 lead but efforts to maintain the same momentum in the second period were made difficult by Real Madrid substituting their entire starting 11. One of the players brought on after the break, Casemiro, equalised with a spot-kick in the 69th minute.

"It's always difficult to know what tactics and what formation they're going to use when they change the team," said Lingard. "We adapted in the second half, took the game to penalties and then obviously won."

Seven of the 10 kicks in the shoot-out were not converted, although Real Madrid's failings were partly down to David De Gea's performance between the posts. "There were some great saves by David," praised Lingard. "We know what he's like, he's a great keeper."

Martial was among the players who missed the target from 12 yards but Lingard, for one, is not concerned. On the contrary, he's anticipating Anthony's third season at United could be his most successful one yet.

"He's only going to get better," assessed Jesse. "He's still young and if he carries on with that confidence [he showed for the goal] in the next few games and throughout the season, he'll help us a lot."