Anthony Martial takes ownership of Man United spot with Alexis Sanchez arrival looming

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  • Anthony Martial made a strong argument to keep his place in the Manchester United first team despite the expected arrival of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal.

    The Frenchman starred in his side’s 3-0 win over Stoke City in Monday night’s Premier League encounter at Old Trafford.

    Here, we focus on his performance.

    Basic stats

    Martial

    Goals – 1

    Assists – 1

    Shots – 6

    Dribbles – 0

    Passes – 47

    Key passes – 1

    Pass Accuracy – 83%

    Touches – 65

    Dispossessed – 1

    Effectiveness

    Martial has the tendency to be a peripheral figure in games on occasion but this wasn’t one of those days. The winger was a thorn in Stoke’s side right from the start.

    His forward runs were a nightmare for Moritz Bauer. Martial’s pace is always a big part of his game but with chances to counter-attack limited, he did show his ability to link-up play well.

    The 22-year-old’s interplay with Pogba and Lingard in particular was excellent, while he did try to feed Lukaku as well whom he eventually assisted for the third goal.

    It’s no surprise that the bulk of United’s attacks were concentrated down the left flank with Martial providing plenty of penetration.

    The highlight of his performance though was his goal in the 38th minute when he met Pogba’s pass on the edge of the box with a sublime effort.

    Martial scores a delightful second for United

    Martial scores a delightful second for United

    Key moments

    3rd min: Fizzes the ball across the face of the goal but Bruno Martins Indi gets there before Jesse Lingard.

    7th min: Hits the deck after Bauer clumsily runs into the back of him but no penalty given.

    13th min: Fires another low cross into the box but Indi Martins clears it again.

    26th min: Has a shot from 30 yards out but it sails over the bar.

    36th min: Gets another chance courtesy of Paul Pogba but his shot is deflected behind for a corner.

    38th min – GOAL: Again, it’s Pogba who plays a square ball to Martial outside the box and this time he curls a beauty into the top corner.

    43rd minute: Martial causes all sorts of problems down the left again, picking out Romelu Lukaku at the far post but Lingard can’t get on the end of his knock down.

    72nd minute – ASSIST: The Frenchman links up well with Lingard before playing the ball to Lukaku who out-muscles a couple of defenders and scores.

    Our verdict

    If Sanchez is indeed arriving at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho was just given a selection headache by Martial. The Chilean usually plays off the left flank but this performance from United’s No11 would have been enough for the Portuguese tactician to consider other alternatives in order to incorporate both players.

    This is the Martial United need to see more of. If he can do this consistently, he’ll be well on his way to being one of the best player in the league.

    8/10

    Martial gives Mourinho a selection headache

    Martial gives Mourinho a selection headache

    Your verdict

    All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com

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