Manchester United are on quite the run at the moment and after Sunday’s 3-1 win over table-toppers Arsenal, the gap between the two sides has been reduced to a mere three points.
Not many could have seen the current United side beating the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal while keeping clean sheets against Southampton and Leicester City away from home.
But Erik ten Hag has got the Reds fired up and despite not dominating entire matches, they have always found a way to win which is a great quality to have especially for a team which is just starting out under new management.
Defence in full flow
The defensive unit deserves praise for letting in only two goals in the last four games after conceding six in the first two. The manager’s decision to change personnel has worked wonders.
Raphael Varane has been rock steady since being drafted into the side in place of club captain Harry Maguire but the performances of Lisandro Martinez have quickly made him a fan-favourite among the United faithful.
The Argentine is a fiery character, who gives it his all whether it be tackles, blocks or even headers. This no-holds barred style of play as already earned comparisons with United legend Nemanja Vidic.
There were question marks when United paid big-money to sign the former Ajax defender with many pundits questioning whether he could cope with the physicality of the Premier League considering his height.
Lisandro Martínez está bien. Solamente se le cargó un poco el aductor. Salió por precaución. Nada grave. pic.twitter.com/9osM0ngmlR
— Gastón Edul (@gastonedul) September 4, 2022
But Ten Hag was always confident in Martinez’s abilities and his trust has been vindicated by the Argentina international, who has used his game-reading skills and defensive awareness to snuff out danger before it even happens.
He has used his stocky frame to great effect with Jamie Vardy even going on to say that he felt the United defender was a ‘bully’ on the pitch. Quite the compliment from the former England international!
Martinez passed fit
Against Arsenal, who incidentally were competing with United for his services, he was immense and together with Varane, hardly allowed Gabriel Jesus to get a foothold into the game.
He had to be withdrawn with tens minutes left due to injury and fans were worried that their new defensive rock would be sidelines for a considerable amount of time.
However, those fears have been quashed by TyC Sport who have stated that the 24-year-old was suffering from a slight abductor injury and as a precaution, he was taken off.
“Lisandro Martinez is fine. Only the abductor was loaded a little. He went out as a precaution. Nothing serious,” journalist Gastón Edul mentioned.
He is likely to be rested for the midweek Europa League clash against Real Sociedad but will be in contention to feature in United’s next Premier League match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park next Sunday.
