Manchester United‘s miserable start to the season continued on Tuesday evening as Michael Carrick’s side suffered a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
The result leaves United without a victory in their last five matches across all competitions, increasing the pressure on Carrick following their worst domestic start in 40 years.
Lisandro Martinez launches attack on Man Utd hierarchy
Despite the mounting pressure on the manager, Lisandro Martinez made no secret about where the blame lies as the World Cup winner publicly criticised the club’s hierarchy for failing to build on last season’s third-place Premier League finish.
“I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it’s a reflection of how our club is at the moment,” Martinez told Amazon Prime immediately following full time in Madrid.
“We had a fantastic season last season, and now we expect more from the top, from upstairs, to bring in more players to compete because many teams have brought in many players as well.”
Jason Wilcox, United’s technical director, oversaw a full scale midfield rebuild over the summer, shelling out £157m, but fans were left frustrated by the decision not to sign a left-back.
|
Player |
Nationality |
Previous Club |
Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Carlos Baleba |
Cameroon |
Brighton |
£70m |
|
Andrey Santos |
Brazil |
Chelsea |
£48m |
|
Youri Tielemans |
Belgium |
Aston Villa |
£35m |
|
Tynan Thompson |
England |
Tottenham |
£4m |
|
Karl Darlow |
England |
Leeds United |
Free |
“Yes, 100 per cent,” he said when asked if he expected more signings in the summer. “I expect more from our technical director. I have to be honest. And also, as a player, we have to do more.
“It’s also important to build a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night.”
The 28-year-old was then asked whether Carrick had been sufficiently supported by those above him.
“He does his best. But every season is different. You can’t stay with what you did last season. The teams know how you play, they know every detail. If you don’t change, next season is a big problem.
“You start changing, changing, changing managers. But what about other areas?”
Youri Tielemans, who was United’s first major signing of the summer, was asked for his reaction to the defender’s criticism. The Belgium international refused to be drawn into the controversy, delivering a brief six-word response.
“I’ve got no comment on that.”
The former Aston Villa star was one of three major investments made in midfield, alongside Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba, who was arguably United’s man of the match on a difficult evening in Spain.
Jamie Carragher slams Lisandro Martinez after Man Utd outburst
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was particularly unimpressed by Martinez’s comments, arguing that the Argentine had created an unnecessary distraction for his teammates.
Speaking to CBS Sports, Carragher said: “It doesn’t do anybody any good at all, and they will be the story now for the next few days all about this.
“Every set of supporters don’t like the suits or the guys upstairs, so United fans will lap this up and think it’s great. I think it’s awful that he’s come out and said that right now. I do.
“And when he’s saying ‘we had a fantastic season last season’, they didn’t. A manager got sacked last season. Sacked.
“They finished third because they had no cup games. They got knocked out of the cup competitions very early. The reason they finished third is Liverpool and Chelsea were that bad as well.
“Now we’re seeing the real Manchester United this season. They were awful again tonight.
“And him as well, when he’s talking at the start of this season – I think he’s a good player, by the way, he’s a World Cup winner, I get that – he’s had an awful start to the season. Awful. Really poor.
“And yeah, people are lapping it up, Manchester United fans will. That does nobody any good at all.”
