Anthony Martial made his debut as a starter for Sevilla on Saturday night in a 0-0 draw with Osasuna.
While his Manchester United debut in 2015 was a special one, his Sevilla introduction was far less so.
The Frenchman lasted 77 minutes before being substituted and was unable to make any real difference.
Martial was making his first start since November and just his third appearance of any kind since United’s 2-0 win away at Villarreal.
The Manchester United loanee failed to attempt a single shot at goal or create a chance.
It was hardly the debut Sevilla had been hyping all week on their social media channels.
Manager addresses flat debut
Martial’s manager Julen Lopetegui spoke about the forward’s debut and admitted the former Monaco man may take a little while to adapt.
Lopetegui told AS: “Martial of course must give us much more, he must adapt and enter the dynamics of the team, he has played little this year. But I’m sure he will enter that dynamic.”
Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic missed a penalty in the draw and Sevilla dropped two points. A win for Real Madrid this weekend would take the gap at the top to six points, when it was four heading into the weekend.
Martial is looking to get back on track and earn his way back into France’s squad, having lost his place last November.
He had scored just one goal for United this season, and only netted seven times in 2020/21.
Sevilla and Martial are next in action on Friday night against Elche, before their Europa League campaign gets underway against Dinamo Zagreb.
Martial’s rejuvenation will take time. Simply starting a game was a huge step forward. He has barely played since getting injured for France last March.
Hopefully he can get a run of games at Sevilla and rediscover his sharpness. But with the Spanish side battling for the title, they won’t wait forever.
Lopetegui has made clear he expects to see an improvement.
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