It started lower than a minute in with a mild shove of Mohamed Salah’s shoulder throughout a break in play. Not lengthy after that, there was a physique test on the Liverpool winger as he tried to press David de Gea. Luis Diaz acquired a style too, with a push into his again down by the right-hand nook flag on the Stretford End, sending him stumbling into the promoting hoardings.
Much has been fabricated from Lisandro Martinez’s comparatively modest stature for a centre-half however no matter he lacks as a result of his 5ft9in in peak, he makes up for by appearing ten males vast. No United participant since Rafael da Silva had approached these conferences of English soccer’s best rivals with the requisite stage of aggression till Martinez. This was the night time Manchester United’s quick king stood tall.
Martinez arrived from Ajax final month with a status for belligerence and that belligerence struck a chord with a crowd that had waded by means of police cordons and crumpled-up cans of lager to succeed in their seats in a combative temper. Even those that refused to enter Old Trafford and as a substitute continued to protest towards the possession on Sir Matt Busby Way would have favored what they might have seen had they been inside.
No new arrival ought to or will placate opposition to the Glazers, however after they play in addition to Martinez did right here, they will not less than present a 90-minute distraction. His aggression was infectious, a lot so it even provoked a post-match argument between Jurgen Klopp and Bruno Fernandes. The Liverpool supervisor was not joyful that Martinez had stayed down after what he sarcastically described as an “awful” Fabio Carvalho problem.
Ten Hag, who prioritised reuniting with Ajax’s participant of the 12 months upon his personal arrival in Manchester, was altogether extra impressed. “I think that [aggression] is what he brings into the squad,” he stated. “I call it grinta. The South American he is, that is one of his attributes. He can bring it into the squad and into this team but you also saw it against Brighton, where he brought a really good performance.”
‘Grinta’ roughly interprets as grit or willpower. Despite being an Italian phrase, Ten Hag associates it most with South American soccer and has valued it extremely inside the squads he has labored with. “In South America – and Argentina in particular – players have the absolute will to win,” he stated at Ajax, discussing the affect of Martinez and his compatriot Nicolas Tagliafico. “This has to do with controlled emotion. Being able to introduce grinta is an important weapon.”
It is why Martinez earned himself the nickname ‘El Carnicero’ – the butcher – throughout his time in Amsterdam, however that metaphor may equally apply to the way in which he carves by means of the opposition in possession in addition to out of it. On a number of events towards Liverpool, Martinez discovered team-mates in area additional up the pitch with passes that even most modern-day centre-halves would battle to tug off, together with switches of play and a essential move to set off the transfer that led to Jadon Sancho’s opener.
This composure in possession additionally helped Martinez together with his most crucial contribution of the night: stopping Fernandes from scoring an unlucky personal purpose whereas the rating was nonetheless 1-0. Martinez’s positioning to dam his team-mate’s sliced, goal-bound clearance was lucky, however the poise with which he dealt with the scenario, and the pace at which he managed and cleared the bouncing ball earlier than Roberto Firmino adopted within the rebound helped to maintain United’s lead intact.
It continues to be very early days in Martinez’s Old Trafford profession. This was his third look in English soccer and solely the second wherein he has lasted past half time. Ten Hag performed down the importance of his substitution within the 4-0 humiliation at Brentford, with the United supervisor insisting he may have taken off any one in every of eleven. But Thomas Frank’s admission to taking inspiration from Brighton, enjoying extra direct than traditional and concentrating on the left-hand facet of United’s defence appeared telling.
Even this recreation was not fairly the take a look at it might need been for Martinez, mockingly, due to this Premier League season’s different main instance of grinta up to now. With Darwin Nunez serving the primary instalment of a three-game suspension for his headbutt on Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen, Liverpool’s assault at Old Trafford was not particularly blessed with the mix of pace, energy and physicality that some consider will bother United’s new centre-half additional down the road.
Those on the opposite facet of the argument level to his league-leading proportion of aerial duels received within the Eredivisie final season or his shackling of Erling Haaland within the Champions League group levels as proof that he’ll have the ability to bodily compete within the Premier League. Time will inform. But what Martinez demonstrated towards Liverpool was that proper mentality is extra vital than being the largest and strongest, and nice defending is just not measured in toes and inches.
Source: www.unbiased.co.uk