Jesse Lingard has rescued Manchester United from Boxing Day doldrums.
The Red Devils forward scored twice on Tuesday in Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Burnley, despite not even starting the game. Having watched the first 45 minutes from the bench, Lingard turned the contest on its head by making an impact when manager Jose Mourinho called upon him as a halftime substitute.
Lingard needed just eight minutes to cut Burnley’s lead, doing so with this sensational back-heel goal in the 55th minute.
Jesse Lingard gets @ManUtd back in the game!
There's a half hour left, so get to NBCSN now or stream the rest of #MUNBUR here: https://t.co/49v84wsfJO pic.twitter.com/8J334r7wIw
— NBC Sports Bet (@NBCSportsBet) December 26, 2017
Here’s Lingard’s first goal from different angles.
https://twitter.com/RedDevilBible/status/945693035991633920
¡JESSE LINGARD QUE HACES! 👀😳https://t.co/6owudNOKXu
— Portal Fútbol ⚽ (@PortalFutbol_) December 26, 2017
But Burnley staved off waves of Manchester United attacks as the second half progressed and looked set to leave Old Trafford with all three points. That is until Lingard scored the tying goal in the first minute of stoppage time.
A fine finish from @JesseLingard! He saves the day for @ManUtd! pic.twitter.com/vLy6oFMhZw
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 26, 2017
Lingard isn’t used to scoring from the bench, nor is Manchester United accustomed to substitutes making such meaningful contributions.
Jesse Lingard has scored as a sub for the 1st time in his league career – the 35th time he has featured from off the bench pic.twitter.com/xGngJRhjRo
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) December 26, 2017
2 – Jesse Lingard is the first Man Utd substitute to score a Premier League brace since Chris Smalling did so in February 2015 (also v Burnley). Impact.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2017
Lingard, 25, probably would rather be starting every game, but Mourinho has managed to improve his goal production form by using him sparingly.
Jesse Lingard has been directly involved in 10 Premier League goals this season:
6 goals ⚽️
4 assists 🅰️He's only started seven games! 👏 #BTSportScore pic.twitter.com/SEZppjFFRd
— BT Sport Score (@btsportscore) December 26, 2017
These numbers represent Lingard’s best-ever goals return, and the season just passed the halfway point.