Jesse Lingard admits he was 'hurt' by his mistake that directly led to Manchester United's shock Champions League defeat to Young Boys on Tuesday night.
The 28-year-old was brought on as a second half substitute by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, first playing up front as a false nine when replacing Cristiano Ronaldo before dropping back into central midfield as 10-man United looked to hold on for a draw.
But with the Red Devils seemingly having everything under control with just a minute left on the clock, Lingard inexplicably sold goalkeeper David de Gea short with a poorly weighted back pass - allowing Young Boys' Jordan Siebatcheu to steal in and net the winner in a 2-1 victory.
There was pandemonium in the stands as the Swiss champions celebrated a famous victory, but for United it was another disappointing night in Europe that saw Aaron Wan-Bissaka shown a straight red card after Ronaldo had netted his third goal in two games to open the scoring.
As for Lingard, his error was a huge personal blow as he looks to re-establish himself at United after a loan spell at West Ham during the second half of last season, and he took to social media to express his regret at making such a mistake.
"Last night hurt. Everytime I pull on the shirt, I hope people understand what it means to me," Lingard wrote on Twitter.
"I always go out wanting to do the best for the club, the team and the fans. I’m upset for my part in the defeat. Mistakes happen in football but we pick ourselves up and go again."
Lingard opted against leaving Old Trafford on a permanent basis this summer, instead choosing to stay and fight for his place despite scoring nine times in 16 Premier League appearances for West Ham. He has delayed making a further decision about his future until January.
Solskjaer has shown willingness to give Lingard another go - after publicly saying he would - but the England star does face fierce competition for places in advance roles when United have everybody fit; Ronaldo, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and Edinson Cavani among those vying for regular minutes.
Source : 90min