Manchester United's goalscorer Wayne Rooney and goalkeeper David De Gea were rightly praised
for their influential roles in Sunday’s 1-0 win at Liverpool, but Chris Smalling was also keen to shine some of the spotlight on Cameronn Borthwick-Jackso following his confident display as substitute.
The 18-year-old Academy graduate was named on the bench by Louis van Gaal and was unexpectedly thrust into the fray on 40 minutes when replacing the injured Ashley Young, slotting in at left-back to defend against the threat of James Milner in front of the vociferous home fans.
It was surely a daunting task to play in his first-ever senior match
against Liverpool, particularly at Anfield, yet Borthwick-Jackson did
himself proud and produced a fine performance on the flank, defending
stoutly and getting forward on occasion to supply a handful of whipped
crosses into the box.
What made the youngster’s display even more
impressive was the fact it was just his sixth appearance for the first
team, although fans will no doubt remember the impressive shift he put
in during the make-or-break UEFA Champions League defeat at Wolfsburg in
early December.
Speaking to ManUtd.com after the final
whistle on Merseyside, Smalling paid tribute to his fledgling team-mate
and suggested he has a successful Reds career ahead of him. “I think he
showed he is ready for a stage like this,” Chris explained. “He has been
drip fed quite a few games this season and he has done very well. To be
able to stand up here and perform like he did shows he is ready for any
game because if you can perform here then you can perform anywhere in
the league.”
Asked if he looks after Borthwick-Jackson on the
pitch, offering guidance in different scenarios and situations, Smalling
agreed but said Cameron can also look after himself: “I like to talk to
the defence no matter who is playing. Maybe it’s a case of spurring him
on when he does something good justo keep that going but on the whole he looks after himself because he is a very level-headed guy.”
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