Lallana: Welbeck contribution crucial at Old Trafford

Adam Lallana saluted fellow ‘old boy’ Danny Welbeck after our history-making win at Old Trafford.

Welbeck ran two-goal Pascal Gross close for the man of the match award after a colossal performance against his former club in Sunday’s 2-1 win.

It certainly caught the eye of Lallana, whose role was to support Welbeck from midfield when Albion were on the ball in Manchester United territory.

“Danny is an outstanding professional. He’s as strong and as fit as he’s ever been and he made my job playing with him a lot more easier,” said Lallana. “He’s got so much power and pace and deserves a lot of credit for the result.

“He caused them problems throughout the game, he won a lot of first contacts and second balls and we were able to press and play off him in numbers. He also had a good penalty shout in the second half.

“We had two old boys up front and I thought we linked up well! We know each other’s games inside out, when to keep the ball and when to play.

“Personally, I felt great. I haven’t had loads of match minutes in pre-season but I have trained every day and felt good so it was satisfying to play a part in such a good result.”

Lallana highlighted that two different facets to our game were on show.

“When you come to Old Trafford you have to be brave, be good on the ball and fill the box with numbers and I thought we did that in the first half. In the second we came under a bit of pressure but the lads were brave, so to get three points was outstanding.”

"We weathered the storm after they scored and I thought we made good subs which took a bit of the sting out of the game and we saw it out brilliantly in the last ten minutes. We’ll enjoy this victory and get ready for a big game against Newcastle.”