Lisandro Martinez silenced his critics for the second game running with a monstrous performance as Manchester United made it back-to-back wins at Southampton.
The 5ft 9in centre-back has been hounded by pundits and opposition fans since signing for the Red Devils in a £55million transfer deal from Ajax, even being dubbed 'frighteningly bad' amid fierce criticism. But after earning Man of the Match thanks to an outstanding display against Liverpool, Martinez continued to prove his prowess in the heart of Erik ten Hag 's back line at St Mary's.
Winning all five of his aerial duels, the diminutive defender was immense at the heart the Red Devils' rearguard to shut out Southampton, showing signs that his partnership with Raphael Varane will develop into a formidable one. Martinez also showed off his other qualities and all-round proactive play to help notch a clean sheet, managing seven interceptions and four clearances.
Looking cool on the ball, United's new No.6 picked up the Man of the Match award again, even though Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal of the game with a delightful finish. The 24-year-old was targeted by Brighton and Brentford in a brutal start to life in the Premier League, as Ten Hag and co lost both of his opening matches as manager in humiliating fashion.
The tide turned against Liverpool, though, as Martinez shone when facing a less physically-imposing side. After their three successful seasons together at Ajax, Ten Hag was desperate to reunite with the Argentina international in Manchester, meaning it came as no surprise when the new Red Devils boss stuck by him after Martinez's nightmare first two appearances.
In an interview with Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher for Sky Sports, Ten Hag claimed: "The data shows he is dominating the ground duels and also the aerial duels. I worked with him for a long time and I had that prejudice that you have, I had the same. But really quickly he turned it round because he was facing the biggest strikers in Holland and in Europe, in the Champions League. It was never a problem for him."
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Carragher had been one of the Argentine's biggest critics over the first fortnight of the new season, declaring that he was "convinced" Martinez couldn't play as a centre-back in English football. But the Liverpool legend changed his tune after watching him dominate his former team.
"He's obviously a very aggressive player and this manager [Ten Hag] knows him better than anyone," Carragher explained on Monday. "That's what he's about, he's a really aggressive defender, he's a fighter, in those first couple of games he was targeted, but that was never going to be the case against Liverpool, or a Man City, but it still will come and he'll have to deal with that.
"The thing I would say about Martinez is that he’s really aggressive, reads the game well, gets on the ball well. What I would say about him, because of his size, is that is a problem for him. No matter what anyone says, being 5ft 9in is a problem."
