Pep Guardiola made a plan to exploit the positioning of Lisandro Martinez in the Manchester derby, and it worked well, according to reports.
Manchester City hammered United 6-3 at the Etihad, with the three second half goals for the Red Devils putting a bit of shine on the day for them when they were dominated.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scored hat-tricks for Guardiola’s side as they cemented their reputation as an almost unstoppable force when they are on song.
Martinez and Raphael Varane could do little to stop City’s forwards and ESPN claim that it is the former that was targeted by Guardiola in a tactical ploy.
Much has been made of the defender’s height, but it was not that which Guardiola sought to exploit, but instead that Martinez would look to help Varane in dealing with Haaland and double up on the Norwegian.
Guardiola instructed Foden and Kevin de Bruyne to attack the space on the left of United’s centre-back pairing as Martinez should be there, but would be doubling up on Haaland.
While it would be harsh to blame Martinez for the defeat, it seems that Guardiola’s plan came off perfectly as Haaland and Foden plundered six goals between them.
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However, the plan could have worked against any number of centre-back pairings, with Haaland absolutely rampant in his City career thus far.
The 22-year-old has scored 14 goals in his first eight Premier League games and 19 in his first 11 City games in all competitions and is on course to break a number of records with his new side.
Southampton will be the next team to try and stop him on Saturday, with Haaland scoring a brace in the Champions League on Tuesday before being substituted at half-time to stay fresh to face the Saints.
