Danny Murphy has harshly criticised Lisandro Martinez following Manchester United's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea. The former Liverpool midfielder believes the Argentine is becoming a burden for the team, and he does not agree with blaming the entire crisis on Michael Carrick.
The match at Stamford Bridge was yet another painful evening for United.
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring, and in the 63rd minute, Martinez received his second yellow card. Cole Palmer converted the resulting penalty to seal the final score.
United's winless streak has now reached nine matches in all competitions.
After the game, Murphy stated:
Martinez is becoming a burden. A player with his experience and quality should understand the situation much better.
Clearly, something is not right with him. He seems to be in a completely different state.
I don't know if he is thinking about leaving, or if he is unhappy with everything happening around the club, but now he has created a serious problem for Carrick.
Murphy emphasised that it is wrong to blame the coach alone:
Listen, this is not solely Michael Carrick's fault. Of course, he must also take some responsibility.
But the main problem for Manchester United right now, in my opinion, is not even a lack of quality. Yes, there are some positions in the squad that need strengthening, but physically, the team has looked much worse over the last couple of months than the side we saw at the end of last season.
It’s one of two things: either the players are not physically fit and did not have a good enough pre-season, or they have mentally stopped taking in the coach’s ideas. I think, depending on the particular player, there is a bit of both.
United's next match will be a home fixture against Roma in the Champions League, followed by a game against Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The pressure on Carrick continues to grow, and following Martinez's dismissal, questions about the team's defence and discipline have become even more pressing.
