Martin Keown has blamed Michael Carrick and his coaching staff for the mistakes creeping into Lisandro Martinez’s game at Manchester United. The Argentina international was sent off in the 63rd minute at Stamford Bridge after his second yellow card for catching Wesley Fofana with a raised arm.
Cole Palmer converted the penalty that followed. Morgan Rogers had put Chelsea ahead five minutes after the break, gliding through United’s defence and lifting the ball over Senne Lammens. The loss left Manchester United 17th in the Premier League table with seven points from nine games. They are also on a nine-game winless run at the moment.
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Keown, the former Arsenal and England defender, was in no mood to spare the manager. Speaking on talkSPORT, he opined that the mistakes committed by Martinez need to be sorted out on the training pitch.
The Arsenal icon suggested that these things must be identified by Carrick and his backroom staff. Keown said:
“Everything that could go wrong is going wrong at Manchester United, isn’t it? Key players like Martinez, he makes a mistake in virtually every game. There’s no doubt about that.”
“Like, even the goal that they conceded, the first one, Morgan Rogers, it’s a fantastic goal, by the way.
“The Arsenal back-four that we had, we would have rushed up to the ball with Morgan Rogers. The player on the ball is the most important person.”
Keown highlighted how neither Martinez nor Maguire closed Rogers down in the build-up to the first goal, which he believes is an issue with the way United defend as a team under Carrick’s coaching.
“You don’t run away. There’s a chance, if he starts to travel with it, right, he’s going to cause disruption. Martinez has got to come up and over and suppress it. Maguire needs to come up, too.
“So, look, when you are on the training pitch, you know, what are we working on?”
Manchester United are back in action on Tuesday, when they host Roma at Old Trafford in the league phase of the Champions League.
What next for Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United?
Martinez joined United from Ajax in 2022 for £57 million and is under contract until the summer of 2027, with the club holding the option to extend it for a further year.
Fabrizio Romano said in his latest YouTube update that direct contacts between Martinez’s camp and the club are expected in the coming days, with talks set to cover his behaviour, his performances and whether the option is taken up.
He will miss Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa through suspension. And it remains to be seen if Manchester United will consider him in their long-term plans at the club. Martinez has been linked with a move away from the club, with Spain reportedly being his preferred destination.
Edited by Nived Zenith
