When Manchester United made the decision to acquire Lisandro Martinez from Ajax in the summer for the price of £55 million, there were a lot of unanswered questions.
Since Erik ten Hag had previously worked with Martinez at the Dutch giants, he was convinced that the player's profile would be a good fit for the way he wants to play the game and that he should be added to the squad. However, the signing was criticized by a number of pundits, including Rio Ferdinand, who was concerned about the player's height and physicality. Other pundits were concerned about the player's lack of presence at the back of the defense.
The Red Devils' 4-0 loss at Brentford, during which Martinez struggled to deal with the threat posed by Ivan Toney and the strength possessed by the Bees, contributed to the escalation of these fears. After the game, he was subjected to even harsher criticism, with Gary Neville claiming that opposing teams will "target" him and questioning whether Manchester United can play a back four with Martinez in it. Martinez also received criticism from other players and coaches.
Martinez, on the other hand, has responded positively and gives off the impression that he is enjoying his football. As a result, the Red Devils have won six of their last eight matches across all competitions. Even though he isn't the tallest player at 5'9, his strengths lie with the ball at his feet and aggression on the floor. He isn't as good at dealing with high crosses and deliveries as he is with the ball at his feet.
United have figured out a way to balance the backline and play to Martinez's strengths by pairing him in central defense with Raphael Varane. This has allowed United to play to Martinez's strengths. The Argentine has been playing very well over the past few weeks, and he has received the most praise for his distribution than for any other aspect of his game. Martinez has become the master of the pass that breaks the defensive line.
With the score tied at one each, Ten Hag's team was having trouble coming up with new ideas and needed some deception to break through the tight defense of Omonia. And Martinez was able to thread a decisive pass through the middle of the defense, which ultimately led to United's second goal. Rashford was responsible for both of the other goals that the Red Devils scored as they secured their second victory out of three in their Europa League group.
Martinez was acquired to bring composure on the ball and the ability to start attacks, regardless of the amount of criticism he will receive for his lack of height. This was the primary reason for his acquisition. There is no question that Harry Maguire possesses the on-ball quality necessary to break the lines with forward passes. His ability to do so is unquestionable. But his self-assurance is completely shot to pieces, and he hasn't turned in a string of consistently good performances in quite some time.
Maguire completed progressively 86 percent of his passes during the 2019/20 season. This was more than what United's other first-choice center backs at the time, Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof, had at their disposal at the time. Something has obviously gone wrong for the player who formerly played for Hull City, as his performance is not quite up to the standard that is required.
Martinez has embraced the challenge of being United's most important defender with both hands, but in order to succeed without Varane, he will need to maintain the impressive form he has shown thus far. After suffering an injury in the Manchester derby, it is anticipated that the Frenchman will be sidelined for the foreseeable future, while Maguire continues to be sidelined.
Because of this, Martinez will be the defender who starts alongside Lindelof when Manchester United travel to Everton on Sunday evening. The two players started together against Omonia and had trouble dealing with the threat that Omonia posed from behind. This could be another source of concern for United fans, given that Everton is blessed with players like Anthony Gordon and Demarai Gray, who both possess a great deal of pace.
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