Paul Scholes says Lisandro Martinez still needs to improve his one-vs-one defending after Manchester United’s 3-0 win over FC Sheriff in the UEFA Europa League.
The Argentina international has been one of United’s standout performers this campaign after his £56.7m arrival from Ajax in the summer.
Doubts have been raised over Martinez’s ability to become a success at Old Trafford, mainly due to his lack of height, but he has quickly formed a solid partnership with Raphael Varane in defence.
And while Scholes has been impressed with Martinez’s impact so far, the former United midfielder says the Argentine star still needs to improve defensively.
‘Five foot nine seems quite tall to me! Yeah I think opinion has changed on him,’ Scholes told BT Sport.
‘He’s very aggressive, he’s very good at the starting attacks as well, really good on the ball – which he would have done at Ajax. They have a lot more possession at Ajax, of course they will.
- Erik ten Hag reveals why he wasn’t happy with Garnacho & explains Elanga snub
- Erik ten Hag furious with Antony as he reacts to “ridiculous” Man Utd incident vs Sheriff
- Man Utd star willing to accept huge pay-cut to sign new contract
‘I still don’t think he’s the best one-vs-one defender. I think having Raphael Varane next to him has really helped to settle him.
‘I think he’s done well in the first period of his United career and he’s winning people over. United fans really like him already and hopefully that will continue.’
Meanwhile, Ten Hag praised Harry Maguire, who made his return from injury against Sheriff.
‘Yeah, I think after a couple of weeks he came in, it was a good performance,’ said the United manager. ‘The whole team was organised well, we didn’t concede counter for the whole game.’
