December 7th 2024.
Ruben Amorim and his team have been facing some challenges in their defence lately. During Saturday's match against Nottingham Forest, Jamie Redknapp was not impressed with Lisandro Martinez's performance. The young player was criticized for his role in Forest's opening goal against Manchester United. The goal, scored by Nikola Milenkovic in just two minutes, came from a set piece, which has been a recurring issue for United in recent games.
The match was filled with errors and it was a wild second half. Unfortunately for United, Forest managed to score twice more, leaving with a surprising 3-2 win. This was a disappointing result for Amorim's side, who had also lost to Arsenal earlier in the week. In that match, both of Arsenal's goals came from corners, with Jurrien Timber and William Saliba finding the back of the net.
Martinez, who had served a suspension in the Arsenal game, was back in the starting lineup against Forest. His task was to mark Milenkovic, but he seemed helpless against the Serbian's towering header. Redknapp, who was analyzing the game at half-time, pointed out that Martinez needed to be stronger and that he was "like a little boy" trying to block Milenkovic. This mismatch ultimately resulted in a goal for Forest.
Phil Jones, a former United defender, was also on punditry duty and he shared Redknapp's assessment of Martinez's performance. He also noted that Diogo Dalot was partly to blame for the goal, as he took a few steps towards the ball and ended up being caught underneath it. Jones believed that Martinez was too fixated on his man and was not paying enough attention to the ball.
United's weaknesses were exposed once again in the second half, with Andre Onana letting in a goal from Morgan Gibb-White's shot. The young goalkeeper was unable to hold onto the ball and it squirmed through him, giving Forest an early lead in the second half. The visitors added another goal after just 54 minutes, with Chris Wood's header looping over Onana and into the net, despite him being in a good position to deal with the danger.
Bruno Fernandes managed to pull one back for United, but they were unable to find an equaliser. It was a disappointing result for the home team, who will have to work on their set-piece defending in the future. Amorim and his team will need to regroup and come back stronger in their next game.
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