Ivan Toney: Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez “was doing well” before being subbed off at half-time
Brentford forward Ivan Toney was impressed with the performance Lisandro Martinez put in as Manchester United lost to the Bees. The Argentine came up against the Bees’ forward on multiple occasions.
Martinez featured for just 45 minutes as Brentford scored four goals past the Red Devils in the first half. Erik ten Hag subbed off Martinez for Raphael Varane after half-time.
Speaking on coming up against the Argentine via Manchester Evening News, Toney feels Martinez was good and combative in duels against him. The 26-year-old believes the defender getting replaced after half-time is a testament to his own performance.
“To be fair to him he was doing well and was very aggressive for a centre-back. Obviously, if he gets beaten in the air he does well on the floor.
“It was a 50-50 and sometimes I got the better of him and sometimes he got the better of me. It is a compliment for me, him getting subbed off at half-time – but whether it was for me or for a different thing they wanted to do we won’t worry.”
Martinez arrived from Ajax this summer for a big price tag. The 24-year-old was one of Erik ten Hag’s key players in the Eredivisie. And the duo have reunited at Old Trafford this summer.
However, the 2022/23 season has gone off to an abysmal start. The Dutch manager’s first couple of games in the Old Trafford dugout have seen the team lose both games.
Against Brighton & Hove Albion, United started without a recognised number nine. The Seagulls split our defence open on a few occasions and punished us. We lost 2-1 in the end.
The Brentford game saw multiple errors from our players. Ten Hag wanted the team to play out from the back. David de Gea made a couple of errors for the first two goals.
People pointed fingers at Martinez for the third goal as Ben Mee beat the Argentine to head the goal in the net after Toney laid it off. The final nail in the coffin came from a counter as the 26-year-old provided another assist.
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There have been a lot of questions regarding Martinez’s height. And while the 24-year-old hasn’t had the best of games yet, the Argentine’s qualities on the ball are impressive.
