Having being introduced late in the second half as a substitute, secured the win and scored on his debut in fine fashion, to introduce him self to the Manchester United faithful and the EPL in general.
The game stared of as boring as the were no shot on-goal or even attempts to score in the first 45 minutes, with both sides going back and front with nothing to show for it, especially Manchester United , who recorded a possession of 72% - 28%.
David de Gae was given his first start of the 2015/2016 season after putting pen to a new 4 year contract last week, could do absolutely nothing to stop Christian Benteke's wonder strike. This was minutes before Martial's solo effort.
The result means Manchester United move up to second in the early-season table, beating Liverpool for the second time in their last three meetings, even Louis van Gaal said "He loves to play Liverpool, because they always lose to his", though cocky you can't help but love his confidence, something Manchester United's former manager David Moyes clearly lacked.
Marouane Fellani started in place of the injured Wayne Ronney, his poor controls meant limited opportunities for United, while Liverpool struggled to provide their lone striker, Benteke, with any kind of meaningful service as neither side registered a shot on target in the first half.
Van Gaal made a half-time change with Memphis Depay coming off for Ashley Young and the former Aston Villa winger made an immediate impact, winning a free-kick from Nathaniel Clyne on the edge of the box. Mata took it, cleverly cutting a pass back to the 18-yard line where an onrushing Blind who was unmarked. The centre-back took full advantage of the space, curling a sumptuous left-footed strike into the top corner.
A timely intervention from Chris Smalling gave United a let-off after De Gea's poor clearance had presented Liverpool with a rare opening before the Spain goalkeeper made amends with a sprawling stop to divert Danny Ings' bouncing effort away from goal after a free-kick had deflected into the forward's path. Liverpool were starting to become more threatening and Blind had to make two frantic clearances from the goal-line after Martin Skrtel had headed on a James Milner corner to cause a mad scramble.
United then won a penalty by Ander-Herrera, who was brought by Joe Gomez after teasing pass was played through by Micheal Carrick. Herrera stepped up to the spot-kick and smashed it into the roof of the net.
De Gea was called into action again with a diving stop to deny substitute Jordon Ibe. Liverpool continued to press and had hope of a late recovery when Benteke produced a stunning overhead kick after an Ibe cross deflected into his path.
But those hopes were dashed when Martial went on an excellent solo run, beating Skrtel and converting a cool finish into the far corner to mark his debut in style.
Although Manchester United came off with a win, as a fan i have to air my disappointment. United's attack looked bare, with goals coming from individual brilliance instead of team goals. After spending close to a quarter billion pounds it's quite bizarre Manchester United's second striker is Marouane fellani and as a team hoping to progress in Europe this season, it's attack should be of great concern. Manchester United needs goals, team goals, and they need a striker ( world class ) whom can provide them. Hopefully Martial proves me wrong.
0 comments :
Post a Comment
Endevour to tell us what you think about what you just read.