Michael Owen tears into Man Utd star Jesse Lingard despite West Ham goal heroics

West Ham v Manchester United, Match in Pictures

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Former Manchester United striker Michael Owen has slammed Jesse Lingard for deciding not to celebrate his late winner against West Ham United on Sunday afternoon. The 28-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with the Hammers, but came back to haunt them with a last-gasp strike for his parent club upon returning to the London Stadium for the first time.

The hosts got their noses in front when Said Benrahma’s deflected effort bounced across the line on the half-hour mark.

However, their lead only lasted five minutes, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s tap-in putting United back on level terms before the interval.

The match ebbed and flowed as the clock ticked down before Lingard stepped up to hand the Red Devils all three points in style.

He picked up the ball on the edge of the area before unleashing a fiercely-struck effort past the flailing Lukasz Fabianski and into the top corner of the net.

Lingard was urged to make the most of his moment by Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes but refused to celebrate the goal out of respect for West Ham.

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Owen, who made 52 appearances for United between 2009 and 2012, has since criticised the midfielder for his muted reaction, suggesting that he should have passed the ball to a team-mate if he did not want to score the goal himself.

“The finish is absolutely sublime,” Owen told Premier League Productions.

“The only thing that is poor about the whole scenario is that he doesn’t celebrate. I can’t believe players don’t celebrate when they score a goal against their old club.

“He was only there two minutes. If he didn’t want to score, if he’s not that happy, don’t pull the trigger, pass the ball if that’s the case.

“It’s the only thing that lets him down there, because everything else is absolutely spectacular.”

Lingard scored nine goals in 16 games for West Ham after joining the club on a half-season loan deal in January.

The playmaker’s form earned him a long-awaited recall to the England setup before he narrowly missed out on a place in the Euro 2020 squad.

West Ham were eager to sign Lingard on a permanent basis over the summer, but he ultimately decided to stay and earn a regular first-team spot at Old Trafford.

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United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed after Sunday’s match that Lingard will be handed a starting berth when the two clubs do battle once again in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

“Jesse was quite clear he wants to fight for his place and be part of a Man United team that is going places,” Solskjaer told reporters after the final whistle.

“I can’t speak for Jesse now but he’s really contributing. He’ll play on Wednesday as I’ll make a few changes.”

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