BORTHWICK-JACKSON CAN HANDLE ANY GAME
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 Cameron Borthwick-Jackson 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 just to keep that going but on the whole he looks after himself because he is a very level-headed guy.”
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