Manchester United new boy Lisandro Martinez produced a passionate reaction after David de Gea made a stunning save against Southampton.
Bruno Fernandes gave Erik ten Hag’s side a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute after an expertly taken volley. With the Saints chasing an equaliser, United’s concentration levels had to be at its peak.
In the 66th minute, Adam Armstrong sent in a cross from the left hand side, which was inch perfect for summer signing Joe Aribo to head towards goal.
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The contact was a firm one as it headed towards the United goal, however, De Dea had other ideas as he made a stunning save to deny Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side an equaliser.
Footage of that save has now emerged and it showed a great reaction from Martinez, who marched towards De Dea, shouted in his face then gave him a friendly slap on the head.
Fans were quick to react to Martinez’s actions.
One fan said: “The butcher is now my new favourite player.”
Another tweeted: “This kid is going to be a fan favourite for years. We need to keep surrounding him with quality.”
A third fan added: “Love how this back line celebrates blocks, saves, goal line clearances like goals lol this is what I've been waiting for.”
De Gea’s save was crucial as United managed to hold on to their 1-0 lead and secure back to back victories after last Monday’s 2-1 win against Liverpool.
After the match, Ten Hag stated that his team did much better than their last away game against Brentford.
He said: “I think we did a lot better [than] against Brentford.
“I saw a team on the pitch, good organisation, fight for each other, and I think there were also some really good moments from playing football.
“We scored finally in the best part of Man United after half-time. I think that 10-15 minutes was really good. We played a really good possession game and scored a wonderful goal.”
Despite a win and a clean sheet, Ten Hag is still looking for improvements.
The United boss added: “There is a lot of room for improvement, that's quite clear, but for me that is normal. Communication is always tough, that's one. Second is cooperation with the team, that is new.
“A new way of play, so a lot of new facts, and that will not go 100 per cent from the start. But we have to get results, we have to win games, and that is what we went through. And we did today, so I'm really happy with that.”
Next up for United is another away trip, this time to the King Power Stadium as they take on winless Leicester City on Thursday evening.
Topics: Manchester United, Southampton, Lisandro Martinez, David De Gea
Marcus Chan