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Football

19th Mar 2017

Jesse Lingard wonderstrike overshadowed with bizarre celebration

Looks like a homage to St. Patrick - but it's not

SportsJOE

You won’t see too many better goals this weekend than the one scored by Jesse Lingard against Middlesbrough.

The Manchester United winger waltzed through the Boro defence before blasting the ball into the top corner of Victor Valdes’ net.

But while the finish caught the eye, some were a little taken aback by Lingard’s celebration, in which he appeared to be commemorating St Patrick’s Day.

Now, we have nothing against extravagant or over-elaborate celebrations, as we made perfectly clear after Dele Alli’s recent displays.

By our reckoning, if you score a great goal then you can do whatever the hell you want, within reason.

That doesn’t mean others weren’t asking questions, however…

https://twitter.com/NyeBeverage/status/843451905359691776

https://twitter.com/acinmanc/status/843452178287222784

Lingard’s goal put Manchester United 2-0 up at the Riverside Stadium, adding to a first-half opener from Marouane Fellaini. Rudy Gestede managed to pull one back, but Antonio Valencia sealed victory with a late third.

The 3-1 victory lifted them back above Everton and Arsenal and into fifth place in the Premier League, just three points adrift of fourth-place Liverpool with a game in hand.

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