In what could turn out to be one of his final appearances for Manchester United, Bastian Schweinsteiger is determined to go out with a bang.
The formerly-ostracised midfielder was handed his first start for José Mourinho’s side on Sunday in an FA Cup fourth round tie against Wigan at Old Trafford, and the German was in the thick of the action throughout.
Having supplied an assist for Marouane Fellaini’s opener just before half time, Schweinsteiger got on the scoresheet himself late on with his first Old Trafford goal for the club, carrying out a tidy overhead finish in the closing stages.
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With ten minutes remaining, Wayne Rooney supplied the corner, Ander Herrera with the knockdown, and Schweinsteiger did extremely well to contort his body and hook the ball over his shoulder and give Wigan goalkeeper no chance, rounding out the scoring in a comfortable 4-0 win.
Schweinsteiger was a surprise choice to start in Man United’s midfield on Sunday afternoon, but he has definitely shown Mourinho that he can still provide solid performances in the starting eleven.
That being said, the fact that his appearances so far have been limited to the cups mean that he still has some way to go before he is considered for league action. He may, however, be included in the squad for the latter stages of the Europa League next month.
2 – Bastian Schweinsteiger has both scored (1) and assisted (1) as many goals today as in his previous 33 games for Man Utd. Return.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 29, 2017
Bastian Schweinsteiger today:
First start in 386 days ✅
First goal in 429 days ✅
First assist in 522 days ✅ pic.twitter.com/AnqYT2wrlk— Football Tweets (@FutballTweets) January 29, 2017
Schweinsteiger wasn’t even included in the team photo. Now he’s started a game, assisted AND scored! ????????
— Manchester United (@ManUnitedWorld) January 29, 2017
Bastian Schweinsteiger completed more passes than any other player during Manchester United’s 4-0 win against Wigan. (103) #MUFC pic.twitter.com/8iZDSObPsR
— teambasti31 (@teambasti31) January 29, 2017