Bukayo Saka starred for England as they defeated Ukraine 2-0 this evening, and the Arsenal man gave credit to Jordan Henderson for his role in the build-up to the youngster’s goal at Wembley.
Shortly after Harry Kane opened the scoring, the 21-year-old doubled the lead with an exquisite curled shot into the top corner of the visitors’ net, with the Liverpool captain having provided the assist.
The Gunners gem noted the contribution of his elder colleague, telling Channel 4 (via BBC Sport): “As soon as it left my foot I knew it would be on target so it was one of my better goals. Jordan Henderson gave it to me and I knew straight away I was going to shoot.”
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The assist for Saka was Henderson’s standout moment in a match where he produced a quietly effective overall performance.
As per Sofascore, the 32-year-old completed 65 passes (third-most of any England player), made one interception and one tackle, and found a teammate with four of his five crosses.
The Liverpool man’s performance also drew commendation from some journalists covering the game, with GOAL‘s Charles Watts giving him 7/10 in his player ratings, stating: “Typically neat and tidy. Did exactly what Southgate would have asked for.”
The Evening Standard‘s Nizaar Kinsella also awarded Henderson 7/10, writing: “A solid midfield display, stopping counter-attacks and linking up with the forwards and particularly the excellent Saka.”
Having not played since the Reds’ defeat to Bournemouth 15 days ago (Transfermarkt) before this game, our number 14 can take great satisfaction from his all-round performance today going into the final few weeks of the season.