Rio Ferdinand has heaped massive praise on Lisandro Martinez following Manchester United’s thrilling comeback victory against Ipswich on Sunday. The former defender believes the Argentine is currently unmatched across world football when it comes to his exceptional passing abilities and composure on the ball, despite a late error during the entertaining encounter at Old Trafford.
An own goal from Jacob Greaves and Bryan Mbeumo’s well-taken lob completed the scoring. Reflecting on the match on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand chose to focus on the performance of Martinez, who was making his first start of the season alongside Harry Maguire in central defence, rather than the team’s defensive lapses.
Martinez made a mistake in added time that allowed Julio Enciso to steal the ball and set up Chuba Akpom for a late consolation. Despite this error, Ferdinand was eager to praise the £57m signing.
Ferdinand stated: “Martinez, by the way, we conceded two goals today, but what I would like to talk about is his ability on the ball. I would go as far as to say Martinez is the best centre-back on the ball in the game right now. I’m trying to think of someone else better who can break the line with passing, who can beat the press when someone comes to him and just move it, take the ball in tight areas; Martinez takes some beating. He was phenomenal on the ball today in terms of his passing, like top tier.”
While United have bounced back from their opening-weekend defeat to Hull City, Ferdinand insists the club are not focusing on a title challenge. He added: “We won the league that year! It can happen, but it ain’t going to happen this year: Arsenal are going to win the league. Man United aren’t here to win the league. The people that are running the club and Michael Carrick, as much as they would like to, in their most serious thoughts they are not saying we are title challengers right now. Sensible, realistic heads are thinking about a year of consolidation; a chance to finish in the Champions League places is a must, and if we get a trophy on top of that, what a season we’ve had.”
United will now look to build on this crucial momentum when they travel to face Everton next weekend. Carrick praised the stubbornness and mentality of his players to overcome setbacks, traits they will need to rely on throughout this campaign. As United continue their push for Champions League qualification, maintaining consistency and integrating returning stars into the starting lineup will be essential moving forward.
