Manchester United star Jesse Lingard lives 'boyhood dream' of captaining English giants

Manchester United star Jesse Lingard captained his side for the first time against Astana in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night. The star was pleased with this gesture and shared his thoughts about it on Twitter. Unfortunately for Lingard, Manchester United lost 1-2 to Astana.

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Jesse Lingard captained Manchester United against Astana

Jesse Lingard tweeted that it was his dream to captain Manchester United. He also described the situation as his boyhood dream since he joined United at the age of nine. He further stated that he was truly honoured to captain the team.

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Manchester United explain reason for appointing Jesse Lingard as the captain

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had left the majority of senior players back in Manchester. The club had already booked their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League. Before the match, Solskjaer told Manchester United’s official website on his reasons to appoint Jesse Lingard as the captain for the match. He stated that Lingard has a very good character in the group. He has faced challenges over the last few months, but he was trying to be back to his best.

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Jesse Lingard scores but Manchester United loses

Manchester United lost against Astana with a 1-2 scoreline. Captain Jesse Lingard opened the scoring for United in the 10th minute. However, the young United side could not maintain their lead and went on to concede twice in the second half. United’s Di’shon Bernard netted the ball into his team’s net, allowing Astana to win in Kazakhstan. This was United’s first defeat in the Europa League this season, having already secured their spot for the knockout stages. Astana, on the other hand, registered their first win of the campaign, while losing all of their previous four matches.

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