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Manchester United's Anthony Martial will be 'a force' this season - Lingard

Anthony Martial has been backed to become "a force" by Manchester United teammate Jesse Lingard.

Martial's promising first season at Old Trafford was followed by a frustrating second campaign, with Jose Mourinho leaving him out of the squad at times.

But the 21-year-old took his tally for this season to four goals -- already halfway to his total last season -- as United beat Burton 4-1 in the League Cup on Wednesday.

Fellow goal scorer Lingard told MUTV: "When he is running at you, any defender is going to be put on the back foot.

"If he continues to do that throughout the season, he'll be a force this season.

"I thought we dominated the game throughout. With the pace we had up front, we pressed them early on and the early goal helped us a lot."

Martial scored United's only second-half goal, complementing Lingard's earlier deflected effort and a brace from Marcus Rashford.

Rashford, 19, was deployed in his favoured central attacking position with Romelu Lukaku rested and impressed at Old Trafford.

"If he plays down the middle, he is bound to score goals,'' Lingard said. "He's got the pace to beat players and he has got the composure in front of goal as well."

Mourinho called it a positive night as his much-changed side progressed without picking up an injury or a booking.

There was also an important 45 minutes for England left-back Luke Shaw, who made a half-time return from the foot ligament issue sustained at the end of April.

"He did very well," Lingard added. "He came on at a comfortable score, so he's come into a game where he can get on the ball and make things happen."

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