Manchester United got a goal from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard, both in the first half, and that was enough to defeat the Premier League’s second worst side, West Bromwich Albion, 2-1 today. West Brom are now winless in their last 17 matches, the worst stretch in club history.
Lukaku didn’t do an ostentatious goal celebration tonight, and was instead much more subdued. United Manager Jose Mourinho explained why, saying that Lukaku is now maturing more. He also drew analogies to himself and his own maturity and development.
“I didn’t celebrate too,” Mourinho said.
“Nobody was happier than me. Fifteen years ago I look at myself celebrating goals.”
“With maturity you go into levels that you control your emotions better. Romelu was a happy kid at West Brom [during his loan spell from 2012-13]. Maybe at the back of the mind it was his love for the club.”
https://twitter.com/ManUtdVines/status/942440336344920070
Was that an indirect, maybe passive-aggressive shot at Manchester City there? Was Mourinho once again bringing up City’s spirited celebrations at Old Trafford last weekend that he took issue with and thus ignited a fracas? When assessing the game today, Mourinho had this to say:
“I think we deserved the win. We were the best team. I knew and the players knew that West Brom is very dangerous on set-pieces. We controlled the game for a long, long time, then manager Alan Pardew reacts. We had a few chances to kill the game but I knew they would react.”
Jesse Lingard has been very productive when called upon, and his favorable statistics have inspired quite the conversation on social media today.
https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/942409186423574529
https://twitter.com/AidanMUFC_/status/942435852147404802
Jesse Lingard has been directly involved in the same number of Premier League goals this season (7 goals + assists) as:
– 'Top 5 in the world' Eden Hazard
– 'World class' Alexis Sanchez
– 'Greatest false 9' Roberto Firmino
– 'Next Ballon d'Or contestant' Sadio Mane.— Man Utd Channel (@ManUtdChannel) December 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/Manchesterspeak/status/942443413244469249
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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