Jesse Lingard embodied the feelings of millions of Manchester United supporters on Tuesday evening, as the Red Devils suffered humiliation at the hands of old foes Liverpool by being thrashed 4-0.
The 29-year-old, who is set to leave club in a matter of weeks when his contract expires and has only appeared nine times under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, came on a substitute just nine minutes in to replace the injured Paul Pogba. While his all-round performance was still below par, Lingard at least showed some semblance of desire in the moments after Liverpool's crucial third goal which wrapped up the one-sided game.
Sprinting to close down Joel Matip, Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk - as Liverpool began another move from the back - Lingard was unable to stop the trio and turned around in hope of his teammates helping out. But when his fellow United flops failed to follow his lead, the academy graduate erupted, visibly frustrated with their lack of commitment to avoid further embarrassment.
At the time of Sadio Mane 's all-too-easy clincher, the Red Devils were troubling their hosts, who even appeared to become jittery as a result of United's more aggressive style of play compared to their timid first-half performance. Alas, the small bubble of optimism burst when Mane hit the back of the net in the 68th minute and secured the three points.
Lingard, a surprise starter in the nervy victory over Norwich City on Saturday, has done himself no harm and is now line to keep his place for the trip to Arsenal this weekend, vital to his team's ambition of qualifying for the Champions League. However, his displays are a damning inditement considering he could have a mere five games left for his boyhood club and sees his future elsewhere.
Post-match, a deflated Lingard told MUTV : "Coming on, I knew my role, I knew my job straightaway and I wanted to do my best for the team. Every time I step on the pitch, every time I put a United shirt on, I want to give 110 per cent. Bring energy to the team, do the pressing.
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"There was nothing to lose. For us as players, we just had to press, stay up, stay high, press them and they'd make mistakes. We were doing that for the first 25, 30 minutes [of the second half] and putting Liverpool under pressure.
"We nearly created some chances from that so we've got to start off with the right mindset of pressing and being intense from the get-go. Otherwise, you're going to fall back into shape and the other team is going to keep the ball so you've got to put pressure on the ball."
"Obviously Liverpool are a good team but I think in the second half we started a little bit brighter, we were on the front foot a bit more and it gave us that intensity. We've got a big game coming up. We've got to regroup fast this week, it's a big three points on Saturday.
"It's another free hit and we'll go there with the mindset of winning, staying on the front foot, being intense, doing the basics and having that energy to go and win the game. We need to work hard first before you can start playing. Win your individual battles and then you'll win the game hopefully.
"We'll work hard throughout this week. However we train reflects how we play, so we can increase the energy and intensity in training to help that.
"It's horrible for the fans [losing to Liverpool]. You can feel their pain when we're on the pitch and you see the scoreline, 4-0, it's disappointing. It's really disappointing and we can only say sorry to the fans. I know they back us through thick and thin which we appreciate as players."
