Man United fans rip into ‘cowardly’ starter who was ‘completely at fault’ for horror moment vs Burnley
Man United fans have criticised Lisandro Martinez after his lacklustre defending was deemed to have allowed Burnley’s Jaidon Anthony the space to equalise.
Man United’s post-Ruben Amorim era began with a trip to Turf Moor to face a relegation-threatened Burnley side on a run of 11 games without a win.
The Red Devils’ interim boss Darren Fletcher saw his side go behind early on as Ayden Heaven deflected a cross into his own net, but they were ahead on the hour mark after Benjamin Sesko netted an impressive brace.
Burnley earned a 2-2 draw through Anthony‘s superb strike in the 66th minute, but many Red Devils fans felt that Martinez should have done a lot more to stop his effort on goal.
Martinez turned his back on Anthony before he equalised for Burnley
Martinez returned to action for United last month after a lengthy injury layoff, and Fletcher trusted him to start his fifth Premier League game in a row at Turf Moor.
United thought they had levelled through Martinez in the first half, but his strike was ruled out for his foul on Kyle Walker, and the Argentine defender was involved in a big moment at the other end in the second half too.
Burnley forward Anthony was able to get the better of Martinez as he chopped and turned him inside out before planting a fine effort past Senne Lammens to make it 2-2 and ultimately earn a point for the Clarets.
There was little that the goalkeeper could do to stop his shot into the top corner, but many Red Devils fans felt like Martinez should have cut the danger out before Anthony pulled the trigger.
United fans lambast ‘pathetic’ Martinez for his defending against Anthony
Off-field events are set to dominate the discourse around United in the days and possibly weeks to come, but regardless of circumstances, this was a great chance to pick up three points that they threw away after going ahead in the second half.
Anthony’s shot was unstoppable for Lammens, but Martinez will undoubtedly feel that he should have done better to stop it heading towards the target.
Lots of Red Devils fans have certainly seen it that way, with one taking to X to say: “When are United fans going to stop trying to pretend Martinez is actually a good defender? The only thing he’s butchered is the United defence.”
Another said: “Martinez (has been) abysmal. Should be shipped to (Erik) ten Hag!!!“
While one fan wrote: “I always struggle to understand Lisandro Martinez’s reputation when he is, and always has been, an awful centre-half.”