Lisandro Martinez has had his fair shares of doubters since he signed for Manchester United. The Argentinian defender signed for the Red Devils in 2022 for a fee of £48.5 million plus add-ons, a highly skilled and sought-after footballer. United even faced competition from Arsenal for his signature.
Martinez was incredibly skilled on the ball, and was one of the best progressive passers in Europe. He's also tenacious in the tackle, but intelligent with his defensive decision making. The only problem with Lisandro Martinez is that he is 5'9", at least four inches shorter than the average Premier League centre-back.
Martinez comes under plenty of criticism for his stature. With all his attributes, it's easy to point to his height as an easy weaknesses for attackers to exploit, especially if there is a severe height discrepancy. That level of advantage is what Martinez faced in the Manchester derby, going up against 6'5" Erling Haaland in 1 vs 1 duels.
Before the game, former United stars Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt discussed the battle on their podcast, 'The Good, The Bad and The Football'. Scholes in particular did not fancy Martinez in his battle with Haaland.
"But if Haaland goes against Martinez… There’s every chance [Haaland] will target [Martinez], of course he will.’
Nicky Butt doubled down. "Haaland would pick Martinez up and run with him," said the six-time Premier League winner. Clearly, neither was confident in Martinez's ability to hold his own against the Norwegian giant.
Martinez did more than hold his own. Martinez held Erling Haaland to one of the worst games of his Manchester City career. Haaland has consistently haunted Man United, scoring 8 goals in 9 appearances against the Red Devils since signing for City. Haaland was held to 0 shots on target, and just 14 touches in the entire game.
Paul Scholes claims shot down after Martinez pockets Haaland in Manchester derby
With Martinez marking him, Haaland was kept incredibly quiet. He managed no goals against United's defense, and was even subbed off by Pep Guardiola in the 80th minute. Man United achieved a 2-0 victory over City, and Martinez's performance was crucial in Unite keeping a clean sheet.
Martinez, on the other hand, managed to win 100% of his aerial duels and 100% of his ground duels, an incredible stat considering the physcal stature of his opponent.
It now means that Erling Haaland has failed to score in 6 of his 7 games when playing against Lisandro Martinez. It's probably left Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt feeling a little red in the face.
Martinez has endured more than his fair amount of criticism, both constructive and otherwise. Scholes and Butt's quotes go beyond constructive criticism and come off more as cheap jabs and mockery. Martinez played with skill and confidence, and roundly proved his doubters wrong.
There will always be discourse around Martinez's height. Pundits always point to it as a potential weakness for the opposing team to exploit. But he has proved time and time again that he can handle himself against even the biggest and strongest opponents. It's about time that he gets the respect he deserves.