Jamie Carragher takes fresh jibe at £57m Man United star as he reveals ‘his worry’ for the defender in Ruben Amorim’s system on the back of Tottenham cup defeat
Jamie Carragher has renewed his criticism of a key Man United star following the club’s Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Tottenham.
Ruben Amorim opted to field a rotated side after securing his biggest win since taking the reins at Old Trafford in the 2-1 win over Man City.
The Portuguese made two changes in his trademark back three, with Victor Lindelof and Leny Yoro replacing Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, who was ill.
Lisandro Martinez kept his place in the side but endured a nightmare evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In a game littered with individual errors on both sides, Martinez was at fault for Spurs’ second goal, as his poor attempt to clear his lines was intercepted by Dejan Kulusevski who subsequently converted from close range.
Gary Neville slammed the Argentine defender for his ‘wimpish’ clearance on commentary, and following the game Carragher claimed Martinez hasn’t yet adapted to Amorim’s system.
Jamie Carragher singled out a Man United player for criticism following their defeat by Spurs
Lisandro Martinez struggled during the game as United fell to a 4-3 defeat in north London
And Carragher said Argentine’s form under Ruben Amorim should be a concern for United fans
He said: ‘I think a little bit of a worry for Manchester United fans will be Martinez because I was very critical of him when he first came.
‘I didn’t think he’d be able to play in a back four because he’d be too small. But he had a really good first season.
‘In some ways you think he’s perfectly suited to a back three. He can step out with the left foot, got two bigger players alongside him.
‘Even though he played a great ball through for the winner in the Manchester derby, I don’t think he’s looked as comfortable since Amorim came in when I thought this would be the making of him. He had a poor night tonight.’
Carragher had questioned whether Martinez would be a success at United because of his diminutive stature not long after he joined the club for £57million from Ajax.
‘I said this when Manchester United signed him, but I did worry about Lisandro Martinez for his height,’ he said.
‘If I was a manager, I would never buy a defender that small and the reason being it’s not just him, I like him as a player and he’s got great spirit, he’s brilliant on the ball, he’s aggressive.
‘But the way the games now, because full-backs are almost like wingers, there’s not that many big players in your team, so your full-backs aren’t the biggest anymore.
Martinez arrived at Old Trafford from Ajax during Erik ten Hag’s first summer at the club
The 26-year-old has made 81 appearances in all competitions for United, scoring one goal
‘I always think for set-pieces, your centre-backs sometimes and even your striker now – how many teams play with a massive player up front – it doesn’t really happen as much.
‘Your two centre-backs have got to be, just for set-pieces, 6ft 3in, 6ft 4in, so at least you’ve got those two pillars.’
Martinez and Carragher made light of the pundit’s comments in a light-hearted segment on Sky Sports after United’s opening-day win over Fulham.
Former United man Gary Neville, who was working as a pundit for the game, asked Martinez: ‘When you came to the Premier League, there were comments about your physicality, how have you found it?’
Martinez paused, and replied: ‘You mean from (Carragher?)’ as he pointed in the direction of the former Liverpool man.
When Spurs captain Son Heung-min went down injured in the closing stages, Martinez rushed over in an attempt to hurry the forward off the pitch, only for him to score directly from the subsequent corner.
