Manchester United's Jesse Lingard has stated that he firmly believes that the Red Devils can still make the top four, after they gave their chances a major boost with Sunday's 2-0 win over Chelsea.

More than capable of it

It has, overall, been a good season for United with their wins in the EFL Cup and Community Shield as well as progress in the Europa League, but their Premier League form, especially at Old Trafford, is where they have faltered.

Despite continuing to be on an impressive 22-game unbeaten run, with the majority of them being draws that has seriously hindered their top four ambitions, four points separating them and rivals Manchester City.

Sunday's victory will be a huge boost of confidence and the gap could potentially be closed down to a point ahead of their clash at the Etihad on the 27th, and Lingard admitted that he still believes United can sneak into the Champions League places.

"Yeah we are capable [of finishing in the top four]," Lingard told MUTV. “Manchester United is a big club with history and it expects trophies."

"We have seen the atmosphere behind us," he told the club channel. "We know we are capable of picking up good results against whoever we play.”

Put in a real shift

The majority of José Mourinho's squad could be highlighted for their performances on Sunday against the title favourites, but one performance that shone brightest was that of Ander Herrera.

The Spaniard was handed the job of man marking Eden Hazard out of the game which he did with frightening precision, but he also shone going forward setting Marcus Rashford's opener and adding the second just after the restart.

"He put in a real shift," he said, in reference to Herrera's performance, "he was all over the place."

"We need individuals to do their jobs," the 24-year-old stressed. "So that it comes together as a collective performance."

"It was tough especially for the forward players doing all the running," Lingard concluded. "But you know you have to put in a shift to get a good performance."

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.