Manchester United’s performance in the 2-1 win against Liverpool was enough to earn one Red a place in the Premier League team of the week.
The Premier League team of the weeks looks like this: Sanchez; Trippier, Saliba, Martinez; Saint-Maximin, Silva, Odegaard, Harrison; Adams, Mitrovic, Zaha.
Writing for BBC Sport, Garth Crooks selected Lisandro Martinez from Erik ten Hag’s side: “I questioned recently whether Erik ten Hag had what it takes to manage Manchester United and I was scathing about the performance of Lisandro Martinez against Brentford.
“Well, both came up trumps against Liverpool. Ten Hag showed real metal to leave out Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo and instead invested in youth, while Martinez looked like a centre-back who had finally come to terms with the physicality of the Premier League. As for Liverpool they were not at their best and haven’t been this season. It’s early days but United have lift off.”
Martinez showed why Ten Hag trusts him to play central defence in the Premier League and he did it to the only team that could challenge Manchester City last season. The Argentine was criticised after United’s 4-0 defeat against Brentford over a week ago.
It may have helped that Liverpool are always less likely to go long or play high balls into the box, but Martinez dealt with everything on the ground. It was a monster performance and a clear warning to other teams in the Premier League.
As for his partner in crime last night, Raphael Varane, it was Frenchman’s most assured performance in a United shirt as he led from the back and kept the defence organised throughout the game – even after Liverpool’s late goal.
Now we need to see this level of momentum build. It’s early days in the Premier League and everyone is dropping points – bar Arsenal.
The Gunners will get a slap of reality when the Europa League kicks-off.
