Anthony Martial was back in action for the first time since leaving Manchester United on Sunday.
The 28-year-old left Manchester United as a free agent this summer after spending nine years at Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial joined the Red Devils from Monaco in 2015 as a promising teenager who seemed destined for stardom after scoring an iconic debut goal against Liverpool.
He ended his time at United having scored 90 goals in 317 appearances and left Manchester this summer when the club decided against offering him a new contract.
Martial only played just over 600 minutes of football for United last season and didn’t make a single appearance in 2024.
It took a while for him to find a new club and Martial was linked with a move to Lille in the summer, but he ended up signing for Greek side AEK Athens.
Anthony Martial makes AEK Athens debut
Martial left it until late September before signing for AEK and he finally made his return to the pitch on Sunday – nine months after his final United appearance.
He was named on the bench for AEK’s Greek Super League match against PAOK, which ended 1-1 after both sides scored in the first half.
Martial, who has already got a new nickname in Greece, was brought on in the 76th minute to replace Levi Garcia up front, but he was unable to have a winning impact on his debut.
In his short substitute spell, Martial only had four touches of the ball and lost possession once. He lost both of his duels but completed two accurate passes.
It is fair to say it was a much more forgettable debut than when Martial replaced Juan Mata and scored an incredible solo effort against Liverpool.
Greek media react to Anthony Martial’s debut
AEK offered Martial the biggest contract in their history to sign him this summer, so they will be expecting big things from the French forward.
Much bigger than his forgettable debut against PAOK, even if he was only on the pitch for around 20 minutes.
The media in Greece were quick to react to Martial’s debut, and they weren’t exactly amazed by his display.
As quoted by Greek outlet SDNA, Martial’s debut was described as “tasteless” by journalist Kostas Kofinas.
He wrote: “How was Martial’s debut in the Greek league? The French forward played as a substitute for about 20 minutes, while his participation can be described as ‘colourless, odorless and tasteless’.”
READ MORE: Rasmus Hojlund sends message after scoring for Man Utd vs Brentford, Anthony Martial responds
However, it was pointed out that Martial has been out of action for a while and patience will be needed for him to get up to scratch.
“Obviously, they are all obliged to wait for the highly paid, but out-of-form footballer.
“Almeida threw Martial into the battle without having prepared him in the ideal way: without a match against the B team of AEK. Not even in a friendly did he get to know his teammates in match conditions and the result was the confirmation that he needs more time for them to learn him and for him to learn them. Patience!”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
