Ole: Lingard is a big part of this club
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Jesse Lingard has a big part to play at Manchester United, as the Reds gear up for Sunday's Emirates FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.
Lingard made his first Premier League appearance since the start of February during our 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Thursday night, coming on for Mason Greenwood in the 63rd minute.
However, the England international has played a big role in our FA Cup campaign this term, featuring in four of our five matches in the competition, only missing the third-round meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's tie, Solskjaer said that the midweek appearance for Jesse was a reward for the hard graft he has put in at the Aon Training Complex.
"Jesse is a part of the club and he's worked really hard," the Norwegian said. "He deserves his chance to come back in and we know his qualities. We know that Jesse's got different qualities to other players and he knows that we value him."
Lingard's FA Cup winner against Palace
Jesse's extra-time strike won us the FA Cup in 2016, etching his name into the history books 🏆
The FA Cup is a competition that no doubt means a lot to Jesse. The 27-year-old scored his first goal in the competition in 2016 against Shrewsbury and followed it up with that famous final winner in extra time against Crystal Palace, which was a beauty.
Wembley itself is a happy hunting ground for Lingard. As well as our FA Cup win in 2016, Jesse also featured in our 3-2 League Cup win over Southampton and in our 2-1 victory over Leicester City in the 2016 Community Shield.
With the players and fans eager to end a trophy drought that stretches back to 2017, Ole knows that the chance to win the FA Cup is something his players will focus on heading into the game against Frank Lampard's Chelsea.
"This is a great chance to get to the final, we're just one step away, it's at Wembley, so we just focus on the FA Cup," said Solskjaer.
“And a trophy, of course, that's massive for any player to win and any team to win, so that's our main focus now - to get to the final. Then we will look at West Ham and look at Leicester after that.”
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