Peter Schmeichel has slammed Lisandro Martinez for ‘trying to be the hero’ in Manchester United’s dismal defeat to Brighton.
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United fell to their third defeat in five Premier League games at Old Trafford on Saturday, dominated by the Seagulls who eased to a 3-1 victory away from home.
Goals from Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro saw off the hosts with Hannibal Mejbri’s consolation goal doing little to lift the mood on an afternoon where Erik ten Hag was booed for substituting Rasmus Hojlund in the second-half.
Gross doubled Brighton’s lead nine minutes into the second-half, deceiving Martinez with a clever dummy to latch onto Tariq Lamptey’s pass to slot past Andre Onana. The Argentina international made an attempt to block the Brighton star but was easily turned and beaten inside his own box.
A number of United players were at fault for Brighton’s second, guilty of ball watching as the visitors sliced through their defence with ease.
But club legend Schmeichel was left perplexed by Martinez’s efforts, questioning his positioning and decision-making.
‘It is kind of what happens at Manchester United at the minute, it is very individual,’ Schmeichel told Premier League Productions.
‘Players, for instance, Martinez here, are trying to be a hero and get in and block. People know this. If we look at him there, he puts himself in a position directly in line of the goalkeeper.
‘He should be closing down rather of just stood up trying to block. If you want to block, don’t turn your body, stand tall. Clearly things aren’t right for Manchester United.’
United started brightly before Welbeck’s opener with Hojlund denied his equaliser after a VAR check.
‘It is a heavy one,’ Christian Eriksen told BBC Sport. ‘We have to look at ourselves. We changed some things but we are disappointed.
‘In the first half we had a lot of moments, had good control. They had a lot of possession but not many chances.
‘They then score with their first chance and the system they play they keep the ball a lot and we had to chase it down. But we still had chances to get back into the game.’
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