Paul Scholes reignites feud with Lisandro Martinez feud after ‘bullied’ claim in Spurs draw
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has once again taken aim at Lisandro Martinez following Michael Carrick’s side’s 1-1 draw against Spurs.
Martinez was arguably at fault for Dominic Solanke’s late equaliser at Old Trafford on Saturday (October 10).
United looked like they were heading for a much-needed victory when Bryan Mbeumo scored with 17 minutes left, before Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for head-butting Luke Shaw. But the home side could not hold out as Solanke held off Martinez before heading past Senne Lammens in stoppage time.
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Paul Scholes slams Lisandro Martinez performance
The result meant United had won just six points from six matches so far this term, with their sole win coming against Ipswich Town in August.
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It’s fair to say Scholes is not happy with how easily Solanke held off Martinez in the moments before the equaliser, with the former midfielder claiming the Argentinian was “bullied” by the centre-forward.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, Scholes said: “You look at the centre-halves again. Now, this is an area of the pitch that hasn’t been addressed for a few years.
“We’ve had the same centre-halves now since probably Leny Yoro and young Aidan Heaven, and we know you’re not going to be successful with them. We’ve said you’re never ever going to win a Premier League with them, and the goal on Saturday was a prime example.
“We know Martinez is a good footballer on the ball; he’s got a nice left foot. But for your centre-half to be bullied by Solanke — that was purely physical. As a centre-half, you cannot be bullied. Now, if it was Maguire, on the other hand, he’d probably have dealt with it. Martinez can’t. It is criminal how we let them score that goal. It is just beyond belief from a centre-back point of view.”
Of course, Butt and co-host Nicky Butt previously joked about the height difference between Martinez and Erling Haaland before last season’s Manchester derby, suggesting the Norwegian would “pick him up and run with him”.
“Honestly, he can say whatever he wants,” Martinez said in January. “I told him already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to wherever he wants. To my house, wherever. I don’t care.”
‘They don’t look fit enough’ – Scholes calls out Man Utd fitness levels
Scholes also said that he still feels United were a long way from challenging the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title during the latest podcast episode, branding the side “irrelevant” and suggesting they “don’t look fit enough”.
He added: “They don’t look fit enough. There’s no excuse for a team not to be fit, especially after what is it, the sixth game of the season? You can blame sports scientists, fitness coaches, all you want, but the manager actually knows what the sports scientists are doing with people. It’s six games in. Okay, it’s going to improve a little bit, but physically, Man United look way behind where they should be now, regardless of whether they have the quality to compete with these teams.”
Scholes continued: “I put money on it now. This team will get to December; they might be sixth or seventh in the league, maybe out of the League Cup, struggling in the Champions League. All of a sudden, they’ll start winning because people aren’t really that bothered about you anymore.”
United return to action away against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League tonight (October 13).
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Topics: Paul Scholes, Lisandro Martinez, Premier League, Football News, Transfer News
Luke Davies