MARTIAL LAW RULES FOR UNITED AS FERNANDES AND POGBA GIVE HOPE FOR FUTURE
IT was Paul Scholes who once said that Anthony Martial “doesn’t look bothered if he scores a goal”, but as the France striker watched the final 10 minutes of this game from the stands, basking in the warm evening sun and the afterglow of his first hattrick for Manchester United, he could not wipe the smile from his face.
Martial is still a work in progress as a centre-forward but the days when you look at him and wonder – as Scholes once did – how much it all really means to him are becoming increasingly few and far between.
It is probably reflective of their struggles in front of goal over recent seasons that this was the first hattrick by a Manchester United player since Robin van Persie in 2013, when Alex Ferguson was still manager, but they rolled back the years here to provide another exciting glimpse of what the future may hold.
Victory extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches and moved them to within two points of Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification. But perhaps as important was the manner of the performance, one dripping with the creative flair of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba in midfield and knotted together by Martial’s deft touch in front of goal.
Martial now has 19 goals for the campaign – his best return in a United shirt – and is joint top scorer with Marcus Rashford.
Whereas Manchester United dazzled in the heat, though, Sheffield United wilted. They were a far cry from the team that drew 3-3 against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side at Bramall Lane in November but this was not a day when Chris Wilder could bemoan bad luck. Given the volume of chances the hosts spurned, the scoreline, if anything, was kind.
Certainly going forward, this is much closer to the vision Solskjaer has for Manchester United – fast and furious with a healthy sprinkling of finesse. They look so much more imaginative, well oiled and, yes, happier.
This was a team enjoying their football, as embodied by Martial.
If Fernandes has helped to unlock the team’s potential, and this was another arresting turn from the cocksure Portugal playmaker, Pogba’s return alongside him could accelerate that process of liberation. This was the pair’s first start together in United colours after a tantalising half an hour at Tottenham last Friday night had whet the appetite of fans and the impact on all around them was pronounced.
Obvious
The most obvious beneficiary was Martial, who has hit it off with Fernandes – on and off the pitch. He is growing into the centre-forward’s position after so long out wide and this was his most devastating performance to date in the role.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has suddenly found there are so many more options for him bombing forward from right back and he set up Martial’s second with a low cross following another link-up between Fernandes and Pogba.
Rashford? This was a difficult night for him in front of goal, the England striker twice getting his feet in tangle to fluff two chances in the first half, but he set up Martial’s first and third goals and never gave Wilder’s side any respite.
The game was just seven minutes old when Oliver Norwood allowed Wan-Bissaka’s throw-in to run by him. Rashford picked up the ball and, with time and space on the right byline, drilled a low cross into Martial who, lurking in the six-yard box, stuck out his left foot to coolly steer the ball home before Chris Basham could intervene.
When Solskjaer talks about wanting Martial to score poacher’s goals, this is what he has in mind.
Manchester United did not have it entirely their own way for all the game and it was instructive to hear Harry Maguire barking at Luke Shaw to “f------ switch on” in the first half as Sheffield United’s players sought to overload down their opponent’s left.
George Baldock was allowed far too much time and space to roam inside and shoot, with Shaw failing to make a challenge and thankful to Maguire for making a superb block with his head.
If anything summed up United’s day, though, it was their third goal.
Pogba, in a deep position, sprayed the ball into the feet of Fernandes, who flicked it into Martial. Martial in turn found Rashford, who returned the ball with a precise pass that split two defenders. Martial’s finish was sublime, dinking the ball over the advancing Simon Moore.
He most definitely looks bothered. (©Daily Telegraph, London)