Mourinho pleased to see Martial shine
Feb 11, 2017 - 7:50 PM Anthony Martial impressed Jose Mourinho with the way he transferred improved training displays into a man-of-the-match performance as Manchester United comfortably overcame Watford.Questions over the 21-year-old's happiness - and Old Trafford future - have grown in recent weeks given his struggles to break into the United manager's thoughts.
Martial dismissed such talk at the start of a week, and ended the week with an eye-catching return to the starting line-up, setting up Juan Mata's opener before wrapping up a 2-0 triumph over the Hornets with a smart 60th-minute goal.
"The Anthony Martial I want is the Anthony Martial of the last two weeks of training," Mourinho said of the attacker, reduced to a watching brief in United's previous two matches.
"Because if he trains the way he did in the past two weeks, he performs naturally the way he did today or better because I think he still misses a little bit his confidence.
"Anthony needs to feel that I am looking at him, that I know what he did in training, the effort he did in training, so I gave him this chance and he played well. He played a good game."
Martial's influence proved crucial on an afternoon when nobody in red floundered, with United particularly impressive in the first half - epitomised by Mata's close-range strike at the end of a sweeping team move.
Put to Mourinho that Old Trafford had witnessed as good a first-half display as there has been during his time at the club, the Portuguese replied with a smile: "Not just under me. It was very good.
"I think it is the kind of football that if, instead of being Mourinho's team, if it is somebody else's team, you would say 'art'.
"But because it is my team you just say is very good, but that's fine. It was very good."
Source: AAP
No one has shouted yet.
Be the first!
Be the first!
Related News
- Lukaku, Zlatan injured in Man Utd draw Dec 30
- City buy backs for strikers' prices: Jose Dec 26
- Mourinho praises United form against Foxes Dec 25
- Keep calm and carry on, Mata tells Man Utd Dec 24
- Mourinho blasts 'childish' United errors Dec 23
- Mourinho rules duo out of festive fixtures Dec 22
- United's Bailly could miss three months Dec 15
- Mourinho asked to explain City comments Dec 14
- Lukaku goal gives lacklustre United win Dec 13
- Ex Man Utd coach sticks it to Mourinho Dec 12
- Pogba confident United can cope with City Dec 6
- United won't appeal against Pogba red card Dec 4