Phil Jones’ Manchester United career has seen the defender inadvertently become the star of several memes.
Although most concentrate on his facial expressions while in action, one of the most widely circulated images has been the one of his improvised attempts to stop Olivier Giroud in his tracks during a Premier League game a couple of years ago.
Misjudging a ball over the top, Jones lost his balance and looked to be in trouble. With Giroud seemingly about to go through on goal, Jones, now horizontal, managed to get his head to the ball, diverting against the Frenchman’s shin. The ball rolled out for a goal kick.
Now, with the England international on preseason tour with United, he’s spoken about the incident during an interview with MUTV.
“I’d misjudged the kick from the goal kick,” Jones explains. “The ball bounced, I slipped, tried to get up, slipped again. The only thing I could do was improvise and try and head the ball away. Giroud was through on goal.
“It looked silly at the time but it did the job.”
“Looking back on it, I think it was the trying-to-get-up stage that was the funny part.
“All my mates take the Mick out of me for it but it was just improvisation. You do what you have to do as a defender.”
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