CSKA Moscow 1-1 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

CSKA Moscow maintained their unbeaten run at Arena Khimki after playing an energetic 1-1 draw with Manchester United. Seydou Doumbia scored for the hosts from a rebound after David De Gea saved Roman Eremenko’s penalty in the first half after an Anthony Martial handball.But Martial then pulled things back for the English side just after the hour mark with a smart header. The draw leaves the group quite open as both the teams are level on 4 points in the group behind leaders VFL Wolfsburg.Here are the five talking points from this game. 

#1 Mysterious Martial

Anthony Martial is having one rollercoaster month is his young career. After being awarded the Player of the Month in England, the teen prodigy has been quiet ever since. He was far from his imperious best against Arsenal and a positional change against Everton did him no favours at all even though he was still one of the brightest players for his team in both games.

Against Moscow, he was having a shocker of a game where he conceded the penalty via a silly handball. More than the heinous offence in the box, what was hurting both Martial and United was his lack of tracking back in the first half.

He gave Mario Fernandes acres of space to surge ahead and also didn’t track back, leaving Marcos Rojo in a fix for most of the first half. His failed take-ons and dribbles also made matters worse.

He wasn’t having a great second half either till he scored the equaliser out of the blue. His knack of scoring goals is undoubtedly world class, but his other aspects of the game are far from the finished product.

The former Monaco man is still a mystery to both fans and opposition alike and this is a double-edged sword for both player and the club. Once the mystery surrounding him is gone, the real test will begin for him from then on.