THE HEATED feud between Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez and Fulham ace Adama Traore continues.
Martinez, 27, and Traore, 29, locked horns in Sunday’s Premier League clash between United and the Cottagers at Craven Cottage.
It was the second meeting between the two teams after August’s Prem opener at Old Trafford that saw Man Utd prevail 1-0 thanks to Joshua Zirkzee’s winner.
Martinez and Traore were locked in some intense challenges on the pitch during that season opening fixture.
At some point the centre-back’s 5’9″ frame somehow managed to overpower his heavyweight Fulham opponent.
The Argentina international went on to rub it in with a cheeky statement during a post-match interview.
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Martinez, who’s nicknamed ‘The Butcher’, said: “I sent him back to the gym. I learned from the first one where he killed me, I killed him back. He is difficult to play against and I learned from the first situation.”
Traore caught wind of the Argentine’s comments and hit back on social media.
The winger posted a pic of himself training and tagged Martinez with an ominous warning and a winky-face emoji.
Traore posted: “Don’t worry we will meet again.”
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The ex-Wolves star kept his promise as he got the better of some intense challenges with Martinez during Sunday’s meeting.
Things looked at risk of boiling over when Martinez went in two footed on his much larger opponent.
Bizarrely, it was Martinez who crumpled to the floor following the dangerous tackle.
Traore took a swipe out of the defender on social media after the match by sharing a cheeky snap.
It showed the forward walking back to his half with the Man Utd ace left on the floor writhing in pain following the clash between them.
Traore posted the following casual caption on Instagram: “Tough loss. We deserved more, but we will keep working hard and improving.”
Nevertheless, Martinez got the last laugh during the latest chapter of their saga as he scored the winner on 78 minutes to lead United to an important 1-0 victory in west London.
MAN UTD PLAYER RATINGS: Maguire puts in superb defensive display but Garnacho caught running into blind alleys
MANCHESTER UNITED secured a hard-fought three points against Fulham.
Lisandro Martinez’s deflected strike proved to be the difference in what was the Red Devils’ only shot on target all game.
Harry Maguire impressed but Alejandro Garnacho once again failed to impress in what could have been his Man Utd farewell amid rumours linking him with Napoli and Chelsea.
Here is how SunSport rated the individual performances.
Andre Onana – 7
Good save low down to his left to keep out an Alex Iwobi shot early doors.
Other than that he was barely tested but no glaring errors mean it is a step in the right direction for the Red Devils No1.
Diogo Dalot – 6
Had a difficult time in the first half up against Iwobi who was Fulham’s main attacking threat.
Switched to the left flank in the second half and supported Garnacho without posing much of a threat.
Matthijs de Ligt – 8
Another strong showing at the back from the Dutchman. Without his support for Dalot, Fulham may have created a goal down United’s right-hand side.
Harry Maguire – 9
A superb defensive display from the England star who has been one of United’s best players since Amorim took charge.
Pulled off a brilliant header at the back post to deny Rodrigo Muniz a certain goal.
Lisandro Martinez – 8
Superb last-ditch tackle to prevent Emile Smith Rowe from shooting as he burst through on goal.
His goal had a big slice of luck as it was deflected past Bernd Leno but credit to him for having the audacity to shoot.
Noussair Mazraoui – 7
Solid at the back and tried to get forward when he could. United looked more balance with him on the left and Dalot on the right, although the pair swapped at half-time.
Manuel Ugarte – 6
Showed some nice touches and was a bit of a menace in the middle – in a positive and negative sense. Kept a close eye on Smith Rowe and allowed him no time on the ball.
Booked for a foul on Adama Traore and was taken off shortly afterwards with an injury.
Bruno Fernandes – 5
Not at his best. Barely saw the ball in the first half and was not very effective when he did get it.
Amad Diallo – 6
Looked bright on the ball and United’s only real outlet going forward.
He worked tirelessly and pressed really well – his hard work paid off when he found the back of the net in stoppage time but his effort was chalked off.
Alejandro Garnacho – 3
Was cautious on the ball and ran into blind alleys too often. Final ball let him down on the rare occasion he did manage to beat a defender.
Rasmus Hojlund – 4
His hold up play is nowhere near good enough for this system or for a club like United.
He was too gung-ho at times and his erratic nature meant linking up with Amad and Garnacho proved difficult.
Hauled off before the hour mark which says it all about his performance.
Subs:
Leny Yoro (for De Ligt, 58mins) – 6
A more assured display given his shaky start to life in the Premier League.
Joshua Zirkzee (for Hojlund, 58mins) – 5
Like Hojlund he had a difficult time holding the ball up but United improved with him on the pitch.
Toby Collyer (for Ugarte, 76mins ) – 6
Solid display again from the youngster who was often in the right position to clear, including one on the line to stop a Joachim Andersen header from going in.
Kobbie Mainoo (for Garnacho, 80mins) – 6
Provided energy in midfield and shored things up alongside Collyer.
A brilliant one-two with Amad set up the winger to score before VAR ruled Amad offside.
Tyrell Malacia (for Mazraoui, 80mins) – 6
Brought on in an unfamiliar right wing-back role but did what was needed to see out the clean sheet.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
