Man Utd man was ‘bullied’ with opponent licking his lips; ex-Red Devil laments ‘soft’ defensive effort

Jamie Redknapp felt Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez was “bullied” for one of two goals he was at fault for against Nottingham Forest, as Phil Jones explained how the Red Devils could have defended both better.

United have lost two games on the spin for the first time under Ruben Amorim. After he won two of this first three games and dre the other, United lost a game against Arsenal, which would have been expected by most.

But a loss against Nottingham Forest the following game is one United would have felt was very avoidable.

Forest got off to a flier in their 3-2 victory, with Nikola Milenkovic scoring the first inside 90 seconds. Sky Sports pundit Redknapp described how Martinez was dominated during the mismatch in the box, as the Forest man towered over him to score.

“Martinez gets bullied, let’s be honest. Milenkovic will be thinking it’s his lucky day. ‘I’m too big, too powerful, too strong for you,'” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.

Former United defender Jones also questioned the positioning from the Argentine in trying to stop the corner.

“United will be really disappointed they didn’t make the header. He’s [Martinez] almost too fixated on stopping him from scoring. His body shape is probably wrong, he should be a bit more side on,” he said.

“Martinez should be more aggressive and stop him from getting his run.”

Martinez at fault for third goal

Martinez also left a lot to be desired for Forest’s third goal – ultimately the winner – when he failed to make an attempt to clear the ball from a looping Chris Wood header, which he could have done with ease, before it bounced off the post and in.

Jones suggested United should have done better as a unit to stop the goal.

“Martinez will be disappointed he didn’t manage to clear it. It’s another soft goal to concede,” he said.

“It’s not a great watch. [Andre] Onana could potentially get it but gets caught in two minds. They all get caught in a mix-up. Another avoidable goal.”

Redknapp added: “Martinez has got to deal with it.”

Man Utd round-up: United preparing lowball Guehi offer

United are reportedly hoping to add to their backline with Marc Guehi, though their planned offer is said to be at around £33million, which is streets below Crystal Palace’s valuation of the defender.

They could lose a defender of their own, with Real Madrid said to be watching Martinez closely, though his performance won’t have done his chances of a huge move much good.

The La Liga giants are also said to be in the mix for Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, who United have been courting.

Meanwhile, United are reportedly going to welcome January offers for flop winger Antony.

United’s poor defensive performance

As a whole, United’s defence struggled against Forest.

According to Fotmob, the three centre-backs who started the game’s final ratings were: Martinez – 6.1, Matthijs De Ligt – 5.6, Leny Yoro – 5.4.

Onana’s performance was the only one rated worse than the latter pair, as he received a 3.2 rating, after the mix-up with Martinez, and letting a somewhat straightforward shot by Morgan Gibbs-White beat him in the second-half.