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New Delhi: Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez hit back at the club legends Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt after they predicted that the Argentinian's diminutive stature would lead to striker Erling Haaland manhandling him in the Manchester derby on Saturday.
But it didn't happen in the match as Martinez expertly tackled Haaland brilliantly throughout the game at Old Trafford. Haaland failed to score as Manchester United registered a clinical 2-0 win in the 198th derby.
Before the game, Scholes took a dig at Martinez during The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, saying that Haaland would "throw him in the net" after scoring, while Butt said that the Norwegian striker would "pick Martinez up and run with him". He further added that Haaland would treat him like a "little toddler".
After the derby, Martinez replied to Scholes’s remarks, saying that he can say whatever he wants. "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," Martinez said.
The United defender further said that he respects all the legends as they want to help the club, but no one says anything face-to-face.
"And I think for me, I respect the relations when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on the television, but when you see (them) here face to face, no one says anything in your face. So for me, I don’t really care what they say. I just put the focus on my performance, the performance of the team and I give everything to this club until my last day," he added.
Scholes then responded to Martinez on Instagram stories, writing that, "Someone’s had a good game, was really happy for you… Tea, no sugar please,".
Interim manager Michael Carrick started his second stint in style as Manchester United defeated Manchester City 2-0 in the Premier League. Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scored goals for the Red Devils as City suffered a crushing blow in the title race.
Mbeumo, just back from Africa Cup of Nations duty, scored the opening goal of the match in the 65th minute, and Dorgu netted the second from Matheus Cunha’s cross just 10 minutes later. After the win, Manchester United moved to fifth spot in the Premier League table with 35 points in 22 matches.
