West Ham forward Jesse Lingard had a debut to remember as he got himself a brace in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa last night.
The 28-year-old had only recently joined on loan from Manchester United but manager David Moyes decided to put the England international in the thick of the action straight away, by starting him in the number 10 role at Villa Park.
Lingard scored his first, ten minutes into the second half, with a neatly taken finish following a counter-attack, and he sealed victory seven minutes from time with a firmly struck right-footed shot. Fans on Twitter were praising his display after the game:
Unbelievable ⚒⚒
— patricia starling (@clatetnblue) February 3, 2021
Quality
— glyn edwards (@glynedw13584614) February 4, 2021
Sensational
— Tim Hughes (@timkazhughes) February 4, 2021
Amazing!!
— Antoine Garrode (@AntoineGarrod) February 4, 2021
Passionate and driven bravo ?
— THE HAPPY HAMMER ⚒⚒⚒⚒COYI (@helloroy7) February 4, 2021
Awesome
— Peter Sketches (@Peter_Sketches) February 4, 2021
By the power of Lingard ⚒xxx pic.twitter.com/rDyrh3lWtQ
— Annette Smith⚒? (@Annette46557317) February 4, 2021
Stunning!
— Pre66Iron (@Pre66I) February 3, 2021
Considering that Lingard had hardly kicked a ball this season, it was a superb display from someone who had every right to be rusty. Instead, it looked like he had something to prove after being overlooked by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for a number of months.