Marcus Rashford reveals what Jesse Lingard thought about Manchester United fans' gesture

Marcus Rashford has claimed the reception Jesse Lingard received at Old Trafford would have meant a lot to the player.

United returned to Premier League action with a match against strugglers Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night and the encounter was the first opportunity for Lingard to play his former club after leaving on a free transfer in the summer.

Lingard started the game but he was helpless in preventing his side from suffering a 3-0 defeat against a confident and improving Erik ten Hag side, who could have won by more, despite goals from Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred.

The midfielder, who departed from United following the expiry of his contract, was substituted off in the 52nd minute and he received a warm reception from the Old Trafford crowd as he limped around the edge of the pitch with an injury.

Rashford spoke to Lingard on the pitch after the full-time whistle and he admitted the reception meant a lot to the player.

"Yeah, massively [it meant a lot to Lingard], I remember when he was leaving, he was a little bit disappointed he didn't get to play at Old Trafford to say goodbye to the fans, but he's now managed to do that in some sense," Rashford told MUTV.

"I'm happy for him, he's playing football and enjoying it. I hope so [2023 is a better year], we're going to work hard to show our fans we can do more and I'm 100 per cent sure we're capable of pushing on and recreating performances like this and better."