Martial magic has Mourinho purring
STARRING ROLE: FRENCHMAN A THORN IN REAL’S SIDE
Santa Clara
Jose Mourinho has challenged Anthony Martial to produce the goods on a more consistent basis after the Manchester United frontman caught the eye against Real Madrid.
Martial produced a scintillating weaving run to set up Jesse Lingard’s opening goal in United’s 1-1 draw against Real in the International Champions Cup at Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, albeit the French international blazed over from the spot in the penalty shootout that followed the draw.
United won 2-1 in a desperately low-quality penalty shootout at the conclusion of the encounter, but it was an injury to midfielder Ander Herrera which was preying on Mourinho’s mind afterwards.
The half-time substitute lasted just seven minutes before he was forced off with a rib injury.
“For him to come off, it has to be very painful,” Mourinho said. “I want to wait and see what it is but I always say there’s no risk in friendly matches.”
Herrera is expected to join Juan Mata on the treatment table when United round off their Stateside pre-season tour against Barcelona, in Landover, Maryland tomorrow.
On the stroke of half-time, Martial’s quick feet saw him leave both Daniel Carvajal and Luka Modric for dead, before squaring the ball across the six-yard box for Lingard to tap home.
It was just reward for Lingard after he was the best player on the pitch during the first half, only a smart save from Keylor Navas keeping out a swerving shot from 25 yards in the seventh minute.
In their first pre-season outing, Real were understandably rusty during the first half, but they improved significantly after Zinedine Zidane changed his entire 11 at the interval and introduced a host of youngsters.
They drew level when Victor Lindelof brought down summer signing Theo Hernandez in the area and Casemiro smashed home the resulting spot-kick.
Zidane said he was “satisfied” with the performance, particularly the contribution of the club’s hot prospects. –