Anthony Martial has revealed that he made the decision to take a 'Panenka' penalty during Manchester United's 4-2 friendly defeat to Cadiz CF earlier this month after being challenged to do so by his teammates.
Following a disappointing start to the first of two friendlies that United played during their warm-weather training camp in Spain, in which they found themselves 2-0 down with less than 15 minutes on the clock, they were awarded a route back into the contest via the penalty spot. Martial, who has struggled with injury issues so far this season, stepped up and cheekily converted a 'Panenka'-style penalty.
Although it was not the most pressurised of settings, given it was just a friendly, Martial found the courage and strength to attempt it knowing that he would have been heavily criticised for attempting it had he not found the net. But the Frenchman made no mistake, pulling a goal back for the Reds.
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Martial has now explained why he made the decision to convert the penalty in such a manner, admitting that he had been practicing the technique in training. As a result of that, his teammates suggested that he would not have the bottle to attempt it during a fixture.
"I've executed quite a few during training and people have always said: 'Well, you're not going to do that during a match'," Martial told United Daily. "So I said: 'Well, yes I am', and then the chance arose and I took it and I scored.
"It all depends [on my technique]. Sometimes, I can wait. Sometimes, well it just depends how I decide to take the penalty."
Martial's penalty was one of just two goals that United scored across their two friendlies in Spain, losing the second 1-0 to Real Betis, meaning manager Erik ten Hag will be hoping for a better outcome when the Reds resume their campaign at home to Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. United will be looking to hit the ground running at the restart and Martial has admitted that the last few weeks, during the World Cup pause, have been like a pre-season campaign for those who were not called-up by their countries for the tournament in Qatar.
Martial added: "We've put in a lot of good work and it has been a bit like a pre-season for us. We've worked on fitness training and getting into top-shape physically, and I've benefited from that a lot personally."
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