“Absolutely fantastic for large parts of the game” – Gary Neville reserves special praise for 24-year-old Manchester United star after West Ham win
Manchester United great Gary Neville has heaped praise on defender Lisandro Martinez for his performance in the 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham United.
The Red Devils took all three points from the game at Old Trafford courtesy of a 38th-minute strike from Marcus Rashford. The home side didn't quite dominate proceedings and were forced to sit tight for the final 20 minutes of the game.
But Manchester United's defense held on and denied the Hammers an all-important equalizer.
While analyzing the match on Sky Sports (via Metro), Neville was full of praise for the United defense but reserved special mention for Martinez.
"They all contributed out there. They’re all going to De Gea but Dalot, Martinez, Maguire and De Gea in that last 15-20 minutes were outstanding.
"David Moyes must wonder what he needs to do to win a game at Old Trafford. He can’t believe it.
"It wasn’t a good performance from Manchester United in terms of football, but in terms of spirit, hanging in there and defending their box, they’ve done that really well.
"Lisandro Martinez was absolutely fantastic for large parts of that game," Neville said.
📸 - Old Trafford chanting 'Argentina! Argentina! Argentina!' for Lisandro Martínez. https://t.co/JS7g5pUSfs
Martinez, 24, joined Manchester United in a €57 million move from Ajax this summer. Some pundits and fans had reservations about the Argentina international over whether he would be able to cope up with Premier League football.
But he has been exceptional so far and is one of the first names on Erik ten Hag's teamsheet. In all, he has made 17 appearances for the Red Devils across competitions, starting 16 of them.
"I don't think we played at our best today" - Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford on West Ham win
Manchester United's goalscorer against West Ham United, Marcus Rashford, admitted that the Red Devils weren't at their best but credited the side for holding on to the slim lead and take all three points ultimately.
"I don’t think we played at our best today but if we want to reach our ambitions for the season, we’re going to have to win games like that.
"We want to perform better but it’s nice to win in that way as well. David [de Gea] was excellent today," the England international said after the game.
100 goals for this special club! I’ve been here since I was 7 years old and came through every single age group and played on every single pitch so I want to thanks all the staff, my family and team mates that have helped make this achievement possible 💯 https://t.co/GRplZmcY4y
The win took United above Chelsea in fifth position, just one point off fourth-placed Newcastle United with a game in hand.