Jesse Lingard had a message to deliver immediately after continuing his red hot form in front of goal.
Lingard had just scored Manchester United's second goal on Monday evening to ease the nerves which were beginning to show as opponents Everton pursued an equaliser, when the free-roaming midfielder leaned into the pitchside camera and put his finger to his lips.
The 25-year-old added to Anthony Martial's opener with his 10th goal in all competitions this season to return the Red Devils to second spot in the Premier League table, although they remain 12 points behind arch-rivals Manchester City.
City are running away with the title and their supporters believed that Lingard's celebration was aimed at them, whereas most others reckoned he was simply shushing the vocal critics of United who have come out of the woodwork in recent weeks.
https://twitter.com/connor_mort17/status/947978493182251008
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https://twitter.com/jamesstanley05/status/947948369938350080
https://twitter.com/TomBird94MCFC/status/947933844275122176
https://twitter.com/glynbilly/status/947921357655937024
https://twitter.com/richyrich7807/status/947912400157728770
https://twitter.com/MCFCarl/status/947908330672017408
Lingard's seventh league goal this term, all of which have arrived in the past five weeks, represents a greater return than all of his previous seasons' tallies combined.
And while he admitted that he does have a target in mind in terms of how many times he wants to find the net before the campaign is out, he wouldn't divulge the number in his post-match interview.
"No, it’s secret! But I’m working towards it and I’ll keep working hard to help the team," Lingard told MUTV. "It’s always good for us to score as attacking players and to help the team get the three points.
"I'm pushing myself and trying to get as many goals as possible this season to help the team to win games."
