Lisandro Martinez helped end Man United’s trophy drought against Newcastle and was lauded by Erik ten Hag at Wembley.
Erik ten Hag lauded Lisandro Martinez for the impact he has had on Manchester United since his arrival from Ajax.
Martinez started in United’s 2-0 League Cup final win over Newcastle as the club secured their first trophy since the Europa League in May 2017.
United signed Martinez from Ajax for £55.3million in July and he has overcome a chastening start to establish himself as a cult hero among United fans.
Martinez lifts the League Cup
Antony followed Martinez to United from Ajax, having won two Eredivisie titles with Ten Hag, and the United manager believes United have benefited from recruiting players accustomed to lifting silverware.
“Before the game you asked me about the influence of Casemiro and Rapha Varane – they know how to win trophies – look at all the Champions League wins they had,” Ten Hag said.
“But I think Martinez – I had him in Ajax, won trophies with him – the same with Antony. You need that personality and typical character in your squad to win in the end. Martinez is definitely one of them.
“You can count on him and you can rely on him and he showed that again today. That bond together with Rapha is really strong. As a manager on the sidelines, you are composed and can have confidence they will sort it out.”
Ten Hag was filmed dancing with Martinez and Antony as United savoured the triumph with their matchgoers after the final whistle and promised to showcase it again if they are similarly successful in the future.
“We have a history together, Licha and Antony,” Ten Hag explained. “In Amsterdam, we did some dancing and I hope we can do it even more in the future.
“Therefore we have to invest, we have to sacrifice, we have to suffer every day to win trophies.”
Casemiro earns Roy Keane approval for “arguing” with Bruno Fernandes as Man Utd celebrate
Casemiro scored Manchester United’s opener as they saw off Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final with the Brazilian having some heated words with team-mate Bruno Fernandes at full-time
Roy Keane said he “liked players arguing” after Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes traded words after Manchester United’s Carabao Cup success.
The Red Devils saw off Newcastle at Wembley to claim their first piece of silverware in six years. Erik ten Hag has his side firmly on the rise with their trophy justification for their impressive performances this term. Casemiro has proved crucial in their forward strides.
The Brazilian, who arrived from Real Madrid in the summer, scored the opening goal at Wembley as his impressive final record continued in what has been a trophy-laden career. Marcus Rashford made it two before half-time but Fernandes missed a late opportunity to make the game safe.
He opted to take a shot on, rather than square it for one of his team-mates, with Loris Karius able to save Newcastle from shipping a third. Casemiro was seen having a debrief with Fernandes as the player’s celebrated, which Keane was a fan of as they speculated about the topic of conversation.
“Are they arguing there?” Keane said on Sky Sports. “Yep, maybe. I like that. I don’t know what they’re arguing about, but it shows they care.”
Keane, who captained United for a lengthy period during Sir Alex Ferguson’s trophy-laden spell, has been known for his confrontational nature. The Irishman has previously commented that arguments between players are a positive, citing the emotion and desire it shows.
Fernandes was yet to win a trophy for United having joined them in January 2020 following several near misses. He paid tribute to the fans but wants their Carabao Cup victory to be the catalyst for much more success.
Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes exchanged words after full-time ( Image: Sky Sports)
He told the club’s website : “It’s always incredible to be a Red, it doesn’t matter if you win or not, it’s always incredible. You see the support they [fans] give us in difficult moments, and now it’s time for them to have some joy also because they’ve been behind us through the worst and now they deserve this. They deserve to be in this position with us.
“It’s been amazing [to win the Carabao Cup]. First trophy of the season, but we want more. We want more. This is not enough for this club, we want and we need more, because, for our standing, we need more.” He also added added: “For me, it was about winning trophies. Finally we did it, but I want more. I want much more.”
Ten Hag echoed that statement as he said: “First you have to win the first one, and that is what we did. I think we can get inspiration from this and confidence that we can do it. We said at the start that we wanted to restore Manchester United by winning trophies and this is the first one.”
Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk; mirror.co.uk
