The result was a 2-2 draw when Manchester United visited Chelsea today, but Red Devils forward Anthony Martial was a winner. He took home the man of the match performance in this weekend’s headliner fixture, scoring both of United’s goals in what looked like it was going to be a huge road win, up until the 96′.
Martial’s bagging a brace is even bigger than it sounds given the kind of summer preseason and regular season he’s had up to this point. It’s been widely reported that the Frenchman has a fractured relationship with manager Jose Mourinho, so the photo below, of the two men sharing a warm embrace, is certainly a welcome sight for any United supporter.
https://twitter.com/united_true/status/1053666802327269376
That’s quite a departure from the times that Mourinho has thrown Martial under the bus.
Anthony Martial scored in the 55′ and 73′ of the epic clash today and thus his name was a top trending term on social media. If United are going to be all that they can be this season, Martial needs to be at his best, and he needs to be given ample opportunities to do so.
The 2015 summer transfer window deadline day signing got supplanted by Alexis Sanchez in the first team when United acquired the Chilean in January. With Sanchez still struggling inexplicably and no end in sight to his issues, Martial needs to be given major minutes going forward.
His future with the club still remains very uncertain with reports just a couple days ago indicating that Martial’s agent had rejected multiple contract extension offers.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud and YouTube. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to any and all of his.