Lisandro Martinez: The Butcher Is Not Done Yet. 🧵 : Thread by @Declan3013 Lisandro Martinez has had a very up-and-down career so far at Manchester United. Starting with major question marks over him before he even kicked a ball for the club, to being involved in conversations as a Top 5 defender in the Premier League after his first season to being labeled as too short, injury prone and a defensive liability. But since Erik ten Hag’s departure, it appears that the Argentine defender has found his groove again under new Head Coach Ruben Amorim. This thread will look at why Martinez could be getting back to his best and possibly back in the conversations of being on of the top defenders in the league. Likes, Rts, Qts, Follows and any feedback are all appreciated ❤️ #MUFC #GGMU

Not Good Enough: Before talking about why he could be back to his best, I wanted to look at last season, where Licha went from being seen as one of the best defenders to having shouts he is injury-prone and needs to be sold.

Injuries: As you can see from the image below, a freak injury in a match at home to Sevilla was the start of his problems. He missed the end of the 22/23 season and then carried on his injury troubles into the next season, missing a total of 42 games in all competitions for Man United and Argentina. This is where the calls for him being injury-prone started, and although it may have been true, it can be mainly placed on the fact he was never eased back into the team, just thrown in for full 90-minute matches as soon as he was fit enough to play.

Inconsistent Centerback Partnerships: While a big factor in his bad performances was his injuries and the fact that he could never really get a good run of games to build performances on. Another big problem was every time he got back into the team, it was mostly with different centre-back partners due to United's big injury troubles last season.

Why He Could Be Back to His Best: Since Erik ten Hag's dismissal, Martinez has been eased back into the squad by Ruud Van Niselrooy and Ruben Amorim by managing his minutes each game until reaching full match fitness and being able to complete full 90s without worrying about getting injured. This resulted in Licha being more confident going into defensive and aerial duels and having back his "mojo" on the ball back. Sure, his performances were not flawless, but we'll discuss these three points more in-depth right now.

Defensive Duels (Tactical Setup) Sure, it might look like I’ve been saying that he’s back to playing well mainly due to his fitness levels improving, but in reality, there's much more to it. One of the reasons is simply Ruben Amorim because his tactical setup helps cover Martinez’s defensive weaknesses. Martinez has always been good at winning his duels, but the system he was in under Ten Hag left the defense exposed due to his aggressiveness when defending, stepping out of the defensive line to put pressure on attackers. Under Amorim, United set up with a back five so Martinez has the ability to step out to press attackers and have two holding midfielders to help him in pressing and a back 4 to cover the space behind him.

Defensive Duels (The Stats) Now onto the stats! Martinez is putting up some great numbers in the Premier League so far, averaging : - 2 Interceptions per game - 1.8 Tackles per game - 4.2 balls recovered - 0.8 dribbled past per game - 2.6 clearances per game These stats show that he is positioning himself well during games to get the interceptions, clearances and ball recoveries.

Aerial Duels: Now while this is still a weak part of Martinez’s game, it's not as bad as people make it up to be. Licha has adapted his game to still be effective at dealing with taller attackers by using his body and his physicality to disrupt the attackers and rather force them into a lousy headers or them not getting to the ball at all. This was shown against Haaland in the derby; as you can see, Haaland targeted Martinez early on and was the main target for crosses, but Martinez used his aggressiveness and physicality to prevent Haaland from getting to the crosses.

On the Ball Ability: With Licha back to full fitness and full of confidence in Amorim's structure, we are seeing Martinez back to his best on the ball. We see him as one of Man United’s main progressors, always looking for a pass forward first, and when he does, it’s pinpoint. He is dribbling around teams press, wriggling around players trying to tackle him. In my opinion, this is the best Martinez we have seen on the ball since he joined the club, and the stats back it up.

On the Ball Ability (The Stats): Over his past 5 games in the league Martinez has averaged: - 8 Progressive passes per game - 91.7% pass accuracy - 100% of take ons - 1.4 progressive carries per game These stats show that he isn’t just helping by progressing the ball and getting the team forward, but he is displaying world-class ability to hold the ball and helping United keep the ball.

Conclusion: Lisandro Martinez's journey at Manchester United has been a rollercoaster, but under the guidance of Ruben Amorim, he appears to be reclaiming his spot among the elite defenders in the Premier League. After battling through injuries and adapting to inconsistent lineups, Martinez has not only regained his fitness levels but also his confidence and form. With a tactical setup that plays to his strengths and mitigates his weaknesses, along with impressive stats in defensive and on-the-ball contributions, Martinez is showing signs of returning to the peak performance levels that initially marked him as a top defender.