It went down as a Luke Shaw opener, but those at the Dubious Goals Committee HQ may want to beware a knock at their door from Jesse Lingard today.
As Shaw struck his shot, Lingard turned his back, and the ball appeared to brush Manchester United’s forgotten man as it bounced up and over Derby goalkeeper Kelle Roos.
Television replays were inconclusive but as Lingard celebrated with his team-mates, he wore the look of a man desperate for acknowledgment that the goal was in fact his.
It will not win any beauty awards but Lingard will take anything he can get these days. Beggars cannot be choosers, even those who are being paid £100,000 per week.
The 27-year-old’s only other strikes for United this season had come against League One strugglers Tranmere Rovers and Kazakhstan champions Astana. The assists have dried up, too.
This game, against a club where he spent half a season on loan in 2015, was supposed to represent a rare opportunity to remind us of what he can do.
Did he take it? In truth, it was one of those six out of ten performances, which has become par for the course from the man with 24 England caps.
A nice pass here and there, but nothing too electric and through-balls were often cut out.
Lingard is contracted to United until June 2021, but there has been talk of leaving this summer with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reluctant to use someone so out of form.
His last start in the Premier League came on New Year’s Day, while he has even been left out of match-day squads, such as against Chelsea and Watford last month.
Talk of him being shown the exit intensified in January when Sportsmail reported how Lingard was teaming up with ‘super-agent’ Mino Raiola. One fan on our online comment section joked Middlesbrough would offer a bag of quavers.
Kidding aside, news of Lingard’s hiring of Raiola caused unease at United, given the club’s well-known fractious relationship with the representative of Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and more.
Whatever is happening behind the scenes, when on the pitch, he has to perform. His greatest contribution here happened to be a fluke deflection off his backside.
