Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka equals 24-year benchmark owing to impressive Lingard link-up vs Andorra
Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka managed a hugely impressive statistical feat during England’s meeting with Andorra this evening, it has been revealed.
Lingard at the double
Gareth Southgate’s men were of course back in action a short time ago.
The Three Lions welcomed minnows Andorra to Wembley, for their latest 2022 World Cup qualifying fixture.
England no doubt headed into proceedings with confidence brimming in the camp, after keeping alive their flawless start to qualifying courtesy of a 4-0 drubbing of Hungary during the week.
And, when all was said and done on Sunday, Andorra were subjected to a similar hammering.
A dominant display, during which the hosts racked up an eye-watering 88% of the possession, eventually culminated in another 4-0 victory.
Jesse Lingard opened the scoring in the Group I clash early on, before Harry Kane settled any remaining jitters from the penalty spot with 72 minutes on the clock:
Jesse Lingard with a bang
https://t.co/vXUj0eAf9r
@itv #ENGAND | #ITVFootball pic.twitter.com/bIVWCFx1Tl— ITV Football (@itvfootball) September 5, 2021
And there was still time for some gloss to be added to the scoreline.
First up came Lingard’s brace a little over ten minutes from time, before Bukayo Saka rounded out a fine evening’s work for England with a late 4th:
Man like Bukayo
A quickly taken short corner sees birthday boy Saka get in on the act#ENGAND | #ITVFootball pic.twitter.com/1NDpCKHcbk
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) September 5, 2021
Saka starring
In turn, on the back of the action coming to a close in London, it has come as little surprise to see the name of Lingard, whose first international goal since 2018 was swiftly followed by a 2nd this evening, take centre stage in the post-match chatter.
The Manchester United man also caught the eye courtesy of an iconic celebration, which saw Lingard pay tribute to new Red Devils teammate Cristiano Ronaldo:
Jesse Lingard scored his first goal for England since 2018.
Then he dropped the SIUUUU pic.twitter.com/5PrVMX9SFG
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 5, 2021
What appears to have slipped somewhat under the radar, though, comes in the form of Lingard’s remarkable link-up with Bukayo Saka.
The pair combined to devastating effect throughout the 90 minutes on Sunday, with the latter’s cross having culminated in Lingard’s opener, before the midfield duo teed up England’s 3rd and 4th for one another, too:
◉ 78’ Saka assists Lingard
◉ 85’ Lingard assists SakaRepaying the favour. pic.twitter.com/Wv3PUMjBrM
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 5, 2021
And such endeavours, in turn, have since given rise to an altogether impressive statistic surrounding the production of wide-man Saka.
As per statisticians Opta, in bagging both a goal and assist this evening, Saka became the first Arsenal player to do so for England’s men’s team since all the way back in 1997:
1997 – @BukayoSaka87 is the first @Arsenal player to both score and assist in a single game at Wembley for the England men’s team since @IanWright0 vs Moldova in September 1997. Gunners. pic.twitter.com/6u1RCZY3c9
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 5, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | West Ham United | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | Chelsea FC | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 5 | Liverpool FC | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 7 | Manchester City | 3 | 9 | 6 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 3 | -1 | 6 |
| 10 | Brentford FC | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 | Watford FC | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 13 | Southampton FC | 3 | -2 | 2 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 3 | -3 | 2 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 3 | -4 | 2 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 3 | -4 | 1 |
| 18 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| 19 | Norwich City | 3 | -9 | 0 |
| 20 | Arsenal FC | 3 | -9 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 2 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 2 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 2 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 2 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 2 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 1 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 1 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 1 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Schar, Fabian | Newcastle United | 0 | 2 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 2 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 2 |
| Djenepo, Moussa | Southampton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Cantwell, Todd | Norwich City | 0 | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 0 | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 0 | 1 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 0 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 0 | 1 |
| Grealish, Jack | Manchester City | 0 | 1 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 0 | 1 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 0 | 1 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 1 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 1 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 1 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 1 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 1 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 1 |
| Grealish, Jack | Manchester City | 1 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 1 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Murphy, Jacob | Newcastle United | 1 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
