Manchester United’s manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly thundered down at Anthony Martial after the 1-1 draw against Chelsea.
Manchester United’s performances dipped at a rather rapid rate since the win against PSG at Parc des Princes.
The side lost seven of their last 10 games across all competitions, and faced another setback last weekend as they were held to a draw by Chelsea.
Solskjaer’s side needed a win to strengthen their position in the table. However, Manchester United now has a fairly minimal chance to ensure a top-4 finish and qualify for the Champions League next season.
Anthony Martial was an unused substitute in the game against Chelsea, and the reason might just have been revealed.
Solskjaer blasts Martial:
The Manchester United manager thundered down at the French winger after the draw against Chelsea, even as he was an unused substitute.
However, a report from Daily Mail suggests that Solskjaer intended to not play Martial in the game because of his poor attitude in the pre-match warm up.
While the Manchester United players were actively taking part in the warm-up, Martial was filmed standing with hands behind his back and the ball at his feet.
Solskjaer was reportedly angry with Martial’s commitment and attitude and decided to not use Martial throughout the game. Instead, the manager brought Alexis Sanchez on in the second half.
Anthony Martial was the first-choice starter in Solskjaer’s side when the Norwegian came in as an interim manager at the club in December. After a series of impressive performances, Martial’s form dipped ever since he signed a new five-year contract at the club.
As a result, the Frenchman was dropped to the bench, and fell behind Alexis Sanchez in the pecking order in the game against Chelsea.
Solskjaer is not the first manager to show his anger towards Martial’s attitude. Previous Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho also had problems with the French winger, and even decided to sell the player in the summer transfer window last year.
However, it has been understood that the Manchester United board intervened and decided to keep Martial at Old Trafford.
How Twitter reacted..
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer vented his anger at Anthony Martial in front of his teammates. The manager is unhappy with Martial’s blatant lack of effort. #mufc [Mail]
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) April 29, 2019
🤷♂️ Romelu Lukaku
🤷♂️ Anthony Martial @GNev2 questions #MUFC‘s fitness levels – and the stats don’t reflect well on the attacking stars 😬— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 30, 2019
Meet Anthony Martial, our assistant manager. He earns £250,000 a week to watch our players warm up. pic.twitter.com/nFzaASzKOZ
— ManUtd360.com (@MUtd360) April 29, 2019
What next?
Manchester United will return to action on the weekend as the side takes on Huddersfield in the Premier League.
