Today’s Manchester derby will not be the first time United’s Lisandro Martinez has faced City’s Erling Haaland.
The couple met on October 19, 2021 when Ajax played Borussia Dortmund in Amsterdam in the Champions League.
Haaland entered the game on a roll, having scored 13 goals in eight consecutive games, but Ajax won the match 4-0.
Much of the credit for keeping the Norwegian at bay went to the Argentine, who received a celebratory hug from manager Erik ten Hag after the match.
At today’s pre-match press conference, Ten Hag admitted that the pair’s previous meeting was useful preparation for Martinez, but warned that “they are totally different situations. Two different teams, different approaches. You can’t compare.”
The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell points out that one of the differences between the two games will be the type of ball played to Haaland.
“Dortmund frequently played long passes to Haaland, which resulted in a great opportunity for him that required an impressive save from Remko Pasveer, but more often saw Martinez combine with Jurrien Timber to eliminate any danger,” notes Whitwell.
“City are not opposed to occasional direct passes from behind, particularly when the ball is at the feet of goalkeeper Ederson, but they prefer to patiently make their way up the pitch and stifle opponents with possession.”
It’s probably fair to say that Lisandro had Haaland “in his pocket” for most of the game, but as Whitwell points out, the Argentine’s performance “wasn’t flawless.”
“Martinez’s first touch, after 36 seconds, was a dodge punt under pressure from Haaland, but he responded a minute later with a scissors tackle to stop an attack,” he said.
“Coming back from a misstep and making his mark on a game are some of the traits that have made him popular at United.”
United will hope to cut off the Norwegian’s supply chain today to give Martinez less work, but there should at least be confidence that the striker can be stopped and has been stopped by United’s number 6.
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