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Lisandro Martinez acquired a roar from the Outdated Trafford crowd final night time often solely reserved for targets and Jamie Carragher falling over.
The combative Argentine has been dominated out for many of the season after requiring surgical procedure on the identical metatarsal which introduced a untimely finish to his debut yr. His absence has been strongly felt by Manchester United this season.
El Carnicero’s aggression, defensive nous, and incisive passing are essential attributes for his crew. There is no such thing as a different central defender in Erik ten Hag’s squad who presents the mixed high quality on and off the ball which Martinez gives; and this was recognised by Outdated Trafford yesterday, as Martinez took to the sector for the primary time in over 4 months.
Take heed to the roar 🔊@LisandrMartinez is 🔙#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 15, 2024
Martinez’s absence has been exacerbated by accidents to Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire at totally different factors this season.
At one stage, Ten Hag was pressured to discipline a defensive partnership of Jonny Evans and Willy Kambwala for an away journey to West Ham. Predictably, United would fall to a two-nil defeat.
The Dutch supervisor will likely be undoubtedly grateful to see his first-choice centre-back again in his crew as he continues to hone a recreation plan which is but to click on.
Ten Hag has been trying one thing of a tactical revolution with United this yr. Or, moderately, a tactical evolution as, within the Dutchman’s personal phrases, he’s constructed a method of play predicated upon the perceived strengths of the star gamers at Outdated Trafford.
Ten Hag desires United to dominate via transitions – to turn into the “finest transition crew on the planet,” the supervisor revealed within the membership’s pre-season tour of America.
He believes this type fits his gamers and pays homage to the spirit of United as a footballing establishment.
“We wish to shock, we wish to play dynamic, we wish to play with velocity, we wish to play aggressive, out of an excellent crew spirit, as a result of that’s United,” Ten Hag contended.
Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are two gamers who function finest on the counter. Rashford, with house to run into, and Bruno with prepared runners to feed.
Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount – two of United’s major targets this summer time – additionally match into this mould: gamers who can transition from a defensive place into an attacking one with devastating velocity.
Ten Hag has sought to implement a system predicated upon a high-press which forces turnovers as far up the pitch as potential. This could, ostensibly, result in numerous probabilities for United’s pacy entrance line to shortly capitalise upon.
However principle doesn’t at all times translate to apply, because the Dutch supervisor has discovered this season. Whereas United have ranked extremely throughout statistics related to transitions, this seems to have come on the expense of every part else.
Ten Hag’s aspect have been defensively fragile. They’re painfully weak from set-pieces whereas providing little risk from their very own. They battle to maintain the ball and are incapable of constructing assaults from the again.
Solely Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Burnley have scored fewer targets than United within the Premier League this season. When introduced with a low-block defence, United are completely ineffective. They sit seventh within the desk with a unfavourable objective distinction, having crashed out of each the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
It constitutes a fairly terrible collection of descriptors for an expensively assembled crew of their second season underneath the identical coach. Nevertheless, United do top the charts for efficiently pressured turnovers and most excessive turnovers resulting in pictures! Once more, principle not at all times translating into apply.
So why would Martinez’s return – a central defender – have a big impact on a method which seems to be going fallacious up entrance primarily?
Nicely, firstly, Martinez is just not returning in isolation. For United’s subsequent recreation, he’s prone to be joined by Casemiro and Luke Shaw, in addition to probably Mason Mount, in a first-choice quartet return for Ten Hag. This will likely be notably impactful for the defensive fragility United have displayed this season when making an attempt to implement this high-press type.
The harm disaster at Outdated Trafford has been relentless. It gives simply sufficient context to offer Ten Hag an excuse for why the season has derailed in such a spectacularly unhealthy vogue. Now that he has his key gamers match once more, there must be fast progress on the pitch; each when it comes to outcomes, but in addition efficiency and elegance.
We have to demonstrably see what Ten Hag is making an attempt to get his gamers to realize. There have been flashes – the current wins over Chelsea and Aston Villa spring to thoughts – however the Dutchman wants constant examples in back-to-back video games.
Secondly, Martinez’s profile lends itself to the precise areas the place United have been struggling, outdoors of scientific ending.
He’s an aggressive front-foot defender who seeks to cease counter-attacks earlier than they start. Too typically United have displayed a delicate underbelly this season with opposition groups in a position to minimize via them with relative ease. Martinez would moderately minimize his opponent than permit this to occur on his watch. He will likely be an instantaneous defensive improve on his deputies.
Nevertheless it’s on the ball the place Ten Hag will likely be most relieved to welcome again the Argentine.
United are so single-minded in making an attempt to provoke fast transitions once they get the ball that they invariably waste lots of the alternatives their wonderful urgent generates. They panic in possession and try to drive a direct go, which is usually intercepted.
Because of this, it feels virtually as if Ten Hag’s attackers are so determined to capitalise upon the uncommon probability they’re supplied with that they rush and snatch at their restricted probabilities. Rashford and Hojlund’s struggles could not exist in the event that they had been introduced with the identical variety of alternatives Phil Foden and Erling Haaland or Mohammed Salah and Darwin Nunez are.
Martinez’s strongest attribute is his incisive and correct passing via the traces.
He’s maybe the most effective within the Premier League at receiving the ball and instantly discovering a teammate excessive up the pitch, with a wonderfully weighted go which renders the opposition helpless. There have been flashes of this in his temporary cameo final night time. Every agency however truthful go was met with an equally agency response by a crowd who’ve been starved of this skill in current months.
Equally, United have struggled to construct assaults from the again this season. They’ve additionally not been in a position to keep possession when pressed themselves. Martinez is as press-resistant a defender as you could possibly hope to seek out and can present an instantaneous treatment for each of those points. Having a centre-back comfortably pushing up the pitch in possession is essential to overcoming the low-block system which United have struggled to unlock this yr.
Andre Onana – signed largely for his talents to play out from the again – has been largely wasted behind a defensive unit who seem allergic to the ball. The Cameroonian, who mixed so successfully with the Argentine in Amsterdam, ought to get pleasure from a significantly better second half of the yr with Martinez in entrance of him.
Martinez ought to, due to this fact, provide Ten Hag extra defensive stability in addition to far larger proficiency in possession. If these enhancements are distilled all through the beginning eleven, aided by the return of Shaw and Casemiro additionally, United ought to enhance each dramatically and shortly. It will result in extra targets with none actual significant modifications up entrance.
If these enhancements don’t come, nonetheless, Ten Hag will possible be in search of a brand new house subsequent season. No strain Lisandro!
