Jesse Lingard… Destined for smaller club?

Manchester United fans were left furious after a mistake by Jesse Lingard cost United a point against Young Boys in the champions league on Tuesday. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

The euphoria of the big stage often usurp the best of players, from the highly revered Roberto Baggio blazing over from six yards out at the 1994 World Cup finals, to Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi in Berlin at the 2006 edition of the same tournament… it goes on and on.

Jesse Lingard was the darling of the Premier League in the second half of last season, it all felt like his career was done at Old Trafford and a lease of life at the London Stadium gave him a breather.

Scoring week in week out and rewriting his name in the hearts of many, then what happened at Young Boys?

Not many expected him to remain at Old Trafford after the interests from teams, in the end the window slam shut and he’s still a Manchester United player.

He even had a moment to himself on a day that was specially dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo with a fine finish against Newcastle, but it all dried up days after.

United travelled to Switzerland to negotiate Young Boys on Tuesday on the opening day of the UEFA Champions League for the 2021/22 season.

It was meant to be a straightforward affair and it got to a fine start when you-know-who latched on to a Bruno Fernandes pass to make it 1-0;

It was Ronaldo’s third in two games, the Portuguese continues to defy gravity and age, lending courage to the tired devils and lifting the moods of their fans across the world, chances after chances and it was slipping away from Solksjaer’s men.

First, Aaron Wan Bissaka lunged unintelligently and was shown the red card by French referee Francois Letexier and from that point, ten minutes before the break, United lost their grip on the game and the rest is history.

It was only a matter of time and United conceded six minutes after the hour mark, you might want to argue that United should be able to best Young Boys even with ten men, but the second half showing from the visitors left too much to be desired.

Every match stat was in favour of the hosts and at the point Jesse Lingard was brought on, it was more of a defensive plan, to earn a point at least as there was no recognized striker in the United team going into the final third of the game.

A rare opportunity to stamp his authority and cement his place in the United side went begging as an unfortunate back pass from Lingard was intercepted by Jordan Siebatcheu and the forward made no mistake from close range as he tucked it past David De Gea for a sensational winner for the hosts.

The question is: was the stage too big for Lingard? Why does he shine so brightly against lesser teams or in a smaller set-up and then bottle his chances with United? Where does Lingard go from here?

Those with vast experience will tell you it has happened to the best of players but with United aiming for the top again after years behind their best, is a player like Lingard one to bank on? Yes, he will always have his moments but is his decision making elite enough to stay at Old Trafford?