Erik ten Hag was defending his attackers, sticking up for Anthony and Antony. As Manchester United face their immediate future without the injured Marcus Rashford, the attention has shifted to the rest of his first-choice forward line. Anthony Martial’s fitness is criticised, as is Antony’s form. The Frenchman could mark his reunion with Sevilla by beginning a match for the first time in almost three months. “He is ready to start a game,” said Ten Hag, and as his first-choice striker has made it to the middle of April with his total of starts still in single figures, that felt newsworthy in itself.
But Ten Hag finds it easy to praise Martial’s performances when he is actually available. He can point to Saturday’s goal against Everton. He often does cite the victories over Liverpool and Manchester City, in two of the few games when he has been able to call upon the centre-forward. Martial’s average of a goal every 117 minutes this season is excellent: the problem is that there have been too few minutes. The injury-prone striker has not completed the full 90 in a Premier League game since January 2021 or for United since later that year. He did not start and finish a match on loan at Sevilla last season, either, though he did at least figure for the first 102 minutes of a Europa League quarter-final second leg before being removed in extra time.
