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Brentford manager admits his team targetted this Manchester United player in 4-0 rout

Lisandro Martinez has been awarded the August Player of the Month award for Manchester United.
Lisandro Martinez has been awarded the August Player of the Month award for Manchester United. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Thomas Frank has admitted his side targetted Lisandro Martinez in the game against Manchester United

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has admitted that his side targetted Lisandro Martinez during his side’s thrashing of Manchester United. Frank admitted to this while speaking to Sky Sports after the game.

We knew we’d more likely either win it or the second ball around it. We knew we had that weapon so that’s why we did it

Martinez had a horrific performance against Brentford. He was not able to cope with the Bee’s attack and was outmuscled by Ben Mee for their third goal.

The 5ft 9in defender joined United from Ajax this summer for €57.3 million with an additional €10 million in add-ons. But he has failed to live up to the money that was spent to bring him.

Such was his poor performance that he was taken off at half-time, with Raphael Varane replacing him. But this was not his first poor display.

The 24-year-old Argentian even struggled in his previous game against Brighton & Hove Albion. In a debut game for him, he was out of place many times and struggled to mark players. This even led to criticism from fans and pundits alike.

And similar was the case again against Brentford. He struggled with the physicality of the Brentford players and was clearly overpowered in all the corners that the Bees took. Jamie Redknapp has said that his height will not allow him to compete in the league.

If you’re going to sign a 5ft 9in centre-back, he’s not going to be able to compete in this league.

Redknapp is not wrong. The defender’s height does put him in a disadvantageous position when a ball is crossed into the box. It is very likely that different teams will continue targeting the player throughout the season.

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Written by Devesh Kumar

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