Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh professed his love for English Premier League side Manchester United during an online interaction with United and England star Marcus Rashford. The all-rounder spoke about following the Red Devils since the time of Eric Cantona’s captaincy in the 1990s during a candid conversation with the United striker on Sony Network’s show Pit Stop, broadcast on their Facebook page.
"I buy a new T-shirt every time the logo changes. I have been following the club for the last 21-22 years,” Yuvraj Singh gushed. Adding to this, he spoke highly about the United forward, saying, "Marcus reminds me of (Cristiano) Ronaldo when I see his pace with the ball. I used to be a fan of Ryan Giggs because of his left foot, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo. I see that the current trio of Martial, Greenwood, and Rashford have similar qualities to those guys.”
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The southpaw expressed his appreciation for the striker further, pointing out the winning penalty to seal United's surprise win over Paris St Germain in the round-of-16 of the Champions League last season. "I was glued to the television watching the match. I just want to tell Marcus that, about fans not being there in the stadium, fans are always behind you," said Yuvraj during their candid conversation. "Whether in the stadium or at home, we always have your back."
Going into the away leg of the match with a 2-0 deficit, former Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku scored in the second minute of the match before Juan Bernat increased PSG'S aggregate to 3-1 ten minutes later. After Lukaku scored a second goal to reduce the deficit to one, VAR ended up giving the visitors a penalty in injury time, with Rashford slotting the winner in the 94th minute of the match.
Talking about the goal, Yuvraj said, "That was a penalty 100 percent. Winning away from home, that's what United is. If you look at United's history, there are a lot of wins in the second half, a lot of wins in pressure situations, and that talks volumes of our players."
Yuvraj Singh enquired about the pressures of taking a penalty in such crucial stages of a game, with Rashford attributing the calm nature of scoring penalties to the youth football set-up of Manchester United, which has produced stars like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, among others.
"I've seen right from the time I was a kid that every team that you face wants to beat Man United," said Rashford. "We've been dealing with pressure from that age. I remember when I first made my debut; it gets to a stage where you don't feel the pressure and you just want to enjoy it. When you're happy you always play your best football. It's nothing technical, it's just the feeling you get and I've always played my best when I'm playing in that situation. The pressure is not from the game, it comes from yourself," Rashford commented.
The Premier League returns after the enforced break due to the global pandemic on June 17 and United's first match will be against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday, June 19.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Ishara S. Kodikara
