Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez is already winning over his doubters.
The Argentine centre-back produced a masterful display against Liverpool in an immensely satisfying 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
Jamie Carragher retracted some of his criticism of Martinez, labelling the defender ‘excellent’.
Now BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks can be added to the list of pundits who Martinez has won over.
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Martinez in team of the week
Crooks named Lisandro Martinez in his BBC team of the week, the only Manchester United player to make it into his chosen XI.
The pundit acknowledged that he had been critical of Martinez after the first two weeks of the season.
He said: “I questioned recently whether Erik Ten Hag had what it takes to manage Manchester United and I was scathing about the performance of Lisandro Martinez against Brentford. Well, both came up trumps against Liverpool.
“Martinez looked like a centre-back who had finally come to terms with the physicality of the Premier League.”
The defender’s spirited performance saw him named as man of the match, with 56 per cent of United fans voting for him.
Erik ten Hag pushed to sign Martinez, keen for him to shake up the defence, and its easy to see why.
United were more aggressive, less timid, and refused to be outplayed or outfought by Liverpool. Martinez was a central part of that.
He deserves the plaudits after receiving an over the top level of criticism following United’s first two games. Ten Hag stuck by him, and was rewarded for it.
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