Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has praised Anthony Martial for his ‘great start’ and believes the striker offers the side something different with his pace and power.
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Martial, 19, has been the highlight of United’s season so far with his four goals in five games and is looking a real talent.
However, its not just his goals that have impressed the club’s fans and manager. The 19 year-old is quick, strong and has a good work rate which saw him rewarded with the Man of the Match award after the 3-0 win against Sunderland. He didn’t get on the scoresheet against the Black Cats but he assisted Wayne Rooney while terrorising the back four for 90 minutes.
Now on Wednesday Martial has another chance to impress against Wolfsburg in the Champions League. The Frenchman is set to start and he will be hoping to produce another strong performance at Old Trafford, something Smalling praised him about ahead of the game.
The England international has seen it all happen in front of him with United winning most of their games and he feels the debut against Liverpool was the perfect moment for the striker.
"“If you could ask for a moment to announce yourself on the world stage, it would be in a massive game like Liverpool at home,” Smalling told manutd.com. “It was a great moment and a lot of people took notice of how well he dribbled at players, how direct he was and how he took his goal.“That’s something we’ve needed this season. He continued his good form by scoring twice at Southampton and again against Ipswich, so he’s enjoyed a great start to his United career.“In that snippet against Liverpool, you get a real idea of how he is. He is one who is very direct, he is willing to take on players and he is willing to take on that risk. I think, in the final third, it is an area where you can take that risk because you can’t take it at the back. He looks a very sharp player.”"
United have been good this season and they currently top the league table after arch rivals Manchester City slipped up against Spurs at the weekend.
Louis van Gaal’s side did suffer a slip up in their opening European game but they can put things right and Smalling has backed the side to compete – with the league being a target if they are top at Christmas.
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"“We have improved,” continued Chris. “Last season’s start was disastrous and it didn’t give us a foothold to be able to challenge for anything. We know that we have improved in this section of the season, and we now have to improve in each other section compared to last season and aim a lot higher.“Our aim is to be competitive in all of the competitions and to make sure that we finish higher in the Premier League than we did last season. If we keep this consistent run from the start, and can maintain that all the way through, then I don’t think anything is out of reach.“If you show that consistency then you will always be there or thereabouts. If you’re near the top by Christmas, you then want a strong finish and a bit of luck on your side as well,” he added."
First United have to win tomorrow with a loss giving them a huge mountain to climb. Michael Carrick, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera missed training and have all been ruled out of the tie by Louis van Gaal, with the boss stating he doesn’t want to take any risks.