Everything we need to know about Man Utd in the last game
‘An important few weeks for Martial’
Man Utd 2-2 Sevilla
Anthony Martial is a really interesting one. He went on loan to Sevilla for the second half of last season and I think if he had done well there he would have moved on a permanent basis, but he didn’t.
Manchester United are a better team with him in it, Erik ten Hag has made that point, but [the issue is] his consistency and whether he can play like he did last night over a sustained period of time. Through poor form or injury he has never really managed to do that but I think we are coming to the point now where there has got to be a decision made over Martial or whether Manchester United are going to go big in the summer for a striker.
So these are an important few weeks for him, especially with Marcus Rashford being out, as the onus is going to be on him to carry the goalscoring threat.
‘Martinez injury added to difficult evening for Man Utd’
Man Utd 2-2 Sevilla
Lisandro Martinez has been such a cornerstone of the Manchester United defence since he has come in from Ajax.
He was clearly upset when he was carried off the pitch before he was stretchered to the dressing room.
Erik ten Hag said it isn’t an Achilles injury, which is good news if that is right, but he didn’t say what it was. Ten Hag did say it didn’t look good.
Martinez seemed to get his foot trapped in the pitch. There was nobody else near him.
The season is at such a fine point for Manchester United at the moment. They are aiming for the top four, trying to get into the semi-finals of the Europa League and they are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
They really can do without a pile-up of injuries. They have got Marcus Rashford out, Raphael Varane went off at half-time yesterday and Ten Gag said he’s unlikely to be fit for the game at Nottingham Forest on Sunday, so it just added to a pretty difficult evening for Manchester United.
‘Lack of leadership’
Man Utd 2-2 Sevilla
Schmeichel criticised his former club’s “lack of leadership” as Martinez lay injured.
The five-time Manchester United Premier League winner was unimpressed home players allowed Martinez to be helped off the pitch by Sevilla’s Montiel and Acuna.
“It looks like the Sevilla players are nice carrying him off the pitch. No, they wanted him out so they could get going,” said Schmeichel, who was at Old Trafford for BBC Radio 5 Live.
“By carrying him off, it didn’t stop their momentum, Manchester United used their five subs so they knew he wouldn’t come back.
“It didn’t give the manager or the players the opportunity to have a conversation. United’s players should have stopped that, leave him on the pitch, let them [the physios] come on and carry him out and in that period, you regroup.
“This is something the players need to do, that’s a lack of leadership on the pitch. Harry Maguire should have managed that situation. When the manager sees that his player is carried off by two opposition players, he should have stopped that.”
‘Second half complete disaster’
Ten Hag said afterwards he took Antony and Fernandes off to avoid them being red carded after being told the pair were on the last warnings.
The United boss felt his side should have scored “three or four” but also conceded they were unlucky with injuries and the two late own goals.
“We have to learn and have to kill the game but everything is open,” he added on BT Sport.
“When we didn’t get the third and got some injuries we lost the rhythm in the game. We played well in the first half with a lot of belief, scored two great goals for Sabitzer and we could’ve scored even more, then after half time we lost control of the game.
“I know we can do better with these players in the last part of the game and we needed to be more composed, it was not a nice night.”
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, a pundit on BT Sport, called the second half “a complete disaster”.
“You never felt Sevilla put loads of pressure on United,” he added. “United must have felt this was going to be a stroll in the park.”
