Q&A: James in dreamland after debut United goal

Summer signing Daniel James was a proud man on Sunday evening, after experiencing the “dream come true” of scoring in front of the Stretford End on his Manchester United debut.

The young Welshman was initially named on the bench by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but took his opportunity to shine in the second half by netting the final goal in a fantastic 4-0 win over Chelsea.

James latched onto a wonderful assist from Paul Pogba and dispatched a deflected finish into the far corner of the net, before running to celebrate in front of the crowd with his ecstatic team-mates.

It was a heart-warming moment for the 21-year-old and, once he had calmed down, the young speed demon gathered his thoughts and spoke to our man Stewart Gardner in the tunnel…

Was that how you dreamt it?
“Well, I think so. For me it has not settled in yet - to come on, to score at a place like this, to make my debut, it is the first time I have played here, so to score is a dream come true.“

How did you feel when coming on?
“I was feeling excited. I wouldn't say I was nervous. I was coming on when we were 3-0 up so it was just about going on there and enjoying myself, showing people why I am here. That is what it was. At 3-0 we were always going to have counter attacks and that suits my game a lot. To come on and to score, you couldn't write it.”

When the chance came, you must have been delighted?
“As I took the touch, some people would say it is a dummy. But the ball got away from me a bit, thankfully I think the defender would have blocked it without that, but as soon as I struck it the ball went into the back of the net and was pure emotion for me. I am delighted.”

Did it live up to your expectations, scoring at Old Trafford?
“It lived up to my expectations, definitely. The atmosphere when I came on was amazing. I think the fans were amazing. They stuck with us throughout. It has been shown everywhere we went on pre-seasons, the fans have been amazing and then again here. To score here is a dream come true.”

Your family must be very proud of you…
“Yeah they are definitely proud of me. They were up there in the stand today, I didn't know where about they were, I was trying to find them but it is hard to find them in front of this many fans. For them and for me, as I said you couldn't write it. To be here in the first place is an honour for me. To come on and show people why I am here is great.”

This is just the start for you, right?
“Yeah, definitely. I didn't start today but that was not something I was gutted about. I just had to be ready to come on and I think everybody played a part in the win. To come on, I played on the right and on the left. I enjoy them both as much as each other. I knew the counter attacks were going to come, so it was just about being in the right place at the right time. Thankfully I was. I know the deflection was a bit lucky, but it paid off for me today.”