Anthony Martial puts in a near-complete performance as United run riot
Anthony Martial looked in the mood from the first whistle against Leeds and played a major part in Manchester United’s 6-2 win.
The Frenchman had one of those games where he did everything but score.
The fact Martial and strike partner Marcus Rashford both drew blanks yet United scored six was a tribute to the contribution from the rest of the team.
United could not have done it without Martial. The number nine provided the assist for United’s second, laying the ball off into the path of a galloping Scott McTominay, who could not believe his luck to double his earlier strike.
This was one of two assists Martial provided, having steered a corner into the path of Victor Lindelof to net United’s fourth goal as early as the 37th minute.
Martial should have scored at least two goals himself and wasted a couple of great opportunities in the second half.
His struggles in front of goal are troubling, although his strike against Sheffield United in midweek was somewhat reassuring.
When the rest of his all round game is as strong as it was against Leeds, it hardly matters, with Whoscored.com rating his performance as a 9.89 out of 10.
Martial by the numbers
Martial managed to create four chances in total. This was more than any United player, with Shaw, McTominay and Fernandes all on three.
Impressively, Martial also completed seven successful dribbles. Leeds as a team managed four combined. Marcus Rashford also had six.
The big flaw for Martial was his shooting. He had four attempts and only landed one on target. Only Bruno Fernandes, with five efforts, had more shots at goal.
This season he remains stuck on three goals, although now has four assists. When it comes to assists he is now joint level with Marcus Rashford, second behind Bruno Fernandes’ seven.
There’s plenty for United and Martial to be encouraged with. He has four goal contributions in his last two games (one goal and three assists). He is warming up nicely at a crucial point in the season.
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