Manchester United succumbed to their first defeat in five games when they suffered a disappointing 0-1 loss at the hands of Real Sociedad in their first Europa League match.
The game was a mundane affair, decided by a controversial penalty decision that was upheld by VAR, raising further questions about his credibility.
The only silver lining to the setback will be the fact that Erik ten Hag will now know more about his squad and who he can trust in the future.
Christian Eriksen was once again United’s best player, but he can’t play every minute. Whereas Anthony Martial is better at holding and bonding, but he can’t stay in shape.
United missed out on the trick by not signing another progressive midfielder and striker. https://t.co/gLuI2pfQkW
— United Info (@allutdinfo) September 8, 2022
For the likes of Casemiro, Fred and Cristiano Ronaldo, this was their chance to claim a place in the starting eleven, but they squandered it.
United’s options up front are slim at the moment with only Marcus Rashford fit at the moment. The coach has not been able to give a date for the return of Anthony Martial after injury.
And according to medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site, the Dutch manager could be playing mind games with the media regarding Martial’s availability.
ETH playing martial mind games
The French striker, who had a brilliant pre-season, played for the club for the last time against Liverpool, where he assisted the winning goal.
An Achilles tendon injury sustained in training has seen the Frenchman miss all subsequent matches, including the Real Sociedad tie.
“There are a few ways you can take this. First of all, we don’t know much about how Ten Hag handles the media and the updates it provides. He certainly hasn’t been forthcoming with many players regarding his absence from the team.
“There could be some mind games, some smoke and mirrors. Ten Hag may have a pretty good idea when Martial will return, but he won’t tell us. That is definitely a possibility,” he told Football Insider.
Fans are hoping that will be the case and that the former Monaco star can make a quick comeback as his overall link game in the striker role can bring out the best in United forwards.
Due to the Queen’s death, the soccer games might be postponed and that might give Martial time to recover and get back to Ten Hag’s plans for the upcoming games.
