Teenage mutant : Van Gaal plays down Martial hype

Frenchman scores brace in United’s 3-2 win at Southampton

SOUTHAMPTON: Louis van Gaal admits he faces a battle to manage the expectations growing around Anthony Martial after he took his tally to three goals in his first three Manchester United games.

Martial followed his debut goal against Liverpool with a double in the 3-2 victory at Southampton that moved United up to second place in the Premier League on Sunday.

The forward arrived at Old Trafford following a £36 million move from Monaco at the end of the transfer window. Yet while there were doubts expressed about the size of the price-tag, Martial has wasted no time making an impact.

“Anthony Martial is already special because we paid a lot of money for him. A lot of people are thinking he is a great star but he is a boy of 19. In three matches he has shown a lot,” said United boss Van Gaal. “I am very happy with him but we and he have to keep our feet on the ground.”

A mistake from Maya Yoshida led to Martial’s second and Southampton manager Ronald Koeman said the centre-back made the wrong decision to pass back. “In general, not criticising Maya, I hate players who pass the ball back to the goalkeeper, play it into the space in front.”

Koeman was not very impressed with what he saw of United though. “There were several moments in the game where you put the pressure on them. We saw the weaknesses of Manchester United today, defensively.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers challenged his players to turn Anfield into a fortress after another disappointing home display saw his side draw 1-1 with promoted Norwich City.

EPL

Standings

                  P  W  L  GD Pts

Man City    6  5   1  10  15

Man Utd     6  4   1  4    13

West Ham 6  4   2  6    12

Leicester   6  3   0  4    12

Arsenal      6  3   2  0    10

Everton      6  2   1  3    9

Swansea    6  2   1  2    9

Palace       6  3   3  1    9

Tottenham    6   2  1    1        9

Watford                6              2              1              0              9

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd,   2015.

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