Erik ten Hag was right about Man Utd – Martinez’s injury could be devastating
Man Utd 3-0 West Ham(Hojlund 23′, Garnacho 39′, 84′)
OLD TRAFFORD — As Manchester United lurched from one catastrophe to the next earlier in the season, Erik ten Hag’s excuses were wearing thin.
One point he kept coming back to particularly irked the naysayers. He insisted, time and again, that injuries were what was really hindering his chances of building on last season’s improvement and that he can only really be judged when he has a fully fit squad to choose from.
With schedules at their most relentless over the past two seasons due to Fifa shoehorning a World Cup into the middle of a domestic campaign, pretty much every Premier League side has had to deal with a congested treatment room, meaning such protestations have done little to win over supporters still unconvinced Ten Hag is the right man to lead them into a brighter future.
Having nailed his colours to the mast then, Ten Hag’s Judgement Day is upon us. For the first time since the opening weeks of the season, Ten Hag has been able to select his strongest XI in consecutive matches.
The result? Two wins from two. While the performances in Thursday’s rip-roaring success at Wolves and yesterday’s comfortable victory over West Ham were far from perfect, they represented the first time United had put convincing, controlled performances together back-to-back.
After two from Alejandro Garnacho and a bullet from Rasmus Hojlund steered United to a first league win by more than one goal this term on Sunday, more of the same in the coming weeks and Ten Hag could well be given the time to complete his restoration project by the incoming new overlords.
At times, some of the football was exhilarating against an in-form West Ham, with Hojlund linking the ball up well, and Garnacho and Marcus Rashford both driving at defenders at any given opportunity. But the visitors still had the chances to give David Moyes his second victory over his former employers this season.
On the whole, however, the win consisted of one facet conspicuous by its absence at Old Trafford this season – control.
With Casemiro’s knowhow keeping things calm in the middle of the park and Lisandro Martinez bringing the finesse of touch United’s backline revolves around, before he worryingly limped off in the second half, key, fit again players were making all the difference.
Another character turned up to the party, too: potency. United’s misfiring strikers have struggled at home especially this season, but when they got their chances on Sunday, they delivered.
Hojlund’s opener, on his 21st birthday, was worth the entrance fee alone, the Dane throwing a perfectly-disguised shimmy before arrowing an unstoppable strike home, becoming the youngest player to score in four consecutive Premier League appearances for United – bringing a tear to Sean Millis’ eye in the stands.
Ten Hag labels Martinez setback a ‘personal disaster’
Martinez goes down clutching his knee (Photo: Reuters)
Lisandro Martinez could be set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury in Manchester United’s victory over West Ham that Erik ten Hag labelled a “personal disaster” for the Argentine.
Martinez was making only his fourth appearance for United since a lengthy injury lay-off with a foot injury in Sunday’s win over West Ham, but was left clutching his knee midway through the second half at Old Trafford.
He was replaced by Raphael Varane and headed straight for the tunnel, with Ten Hag unable to hide his disappointment after the match.
“It doesn’t look good,” he said. “There is a bad concern. We do everything to get the right diagnosis and see what the damage is.
“He is very sad, very disappointed. We all feel really with him. First of all it is a personal disaster when it is really bad but also for the team it is really bad because he definitely brings us a lot.”
Alongside other returning key figures, Martinez has helped steer United to three successive wins in all competitions against former manager David Moyes on Sunday – the first time they have gone on such a run since October.
It comes at a crucial time for Ten Hag, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos due to take control of footballing matters at the club once their 25 per cent stake in the club is ratified. The Dutchman is hoping injuries will not hinder his chances of maming further progress.
“You can only work on the potential when a team is available,” Ten Hag added.
“When certain positions are not available, you have to be creative. We have certain times in the season when you have to adapt to put a team out.
“Now danger is coming from Martinez so I hope we don’t go back. It is not about 11 players, it is about 15 or 16 so I hope we can keep them all fit. We can achieve a lot because in this Premier League everyone is killing everyone.”
Moments after Emerson Palmieri wasted a glorious chance to level early in the second half, Garnacho put the game to bed with a deflected strike and added a well-taken third late on to cap a lesser-spotted convincing home win.
Ten Hag’s team have taken too many steps back this season for anyone to get carried away, but with all his tools at his disposal, Martinez perhaps aside, the time for excuses is over.
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