Erik ten Hag has been without his first-choice left-backs for most of 2024.
Calf, thigh and hamstring issues mean Luke Shaw last played for Manchester United on February 18. A long-term knee injury to Tyrell Malacia has seen the Dutchman unavailable for selection since May 28, 2023, the final match of the 2022-23 Premier League season.
The ensuing months have caused Ten Hag to get inventive with his selections (with varying results).
Victor Lindelof, Sofyan Amrabat and Jonny Evans moonlighted in this problem position towards the end of last season. The early sections of 2024-25 have seen Diogo Dalot operating at left-back. Noussair Mazraoui undergoing minor surgery over the international break meant Dalot had to return to his favoured position at right-back for Saturday’s match against Brentford, which presented another muddle for Ten Hag.
Luckily, Lisandro Martinez was there to answer the call. The Argentina international moved from his best position at centre-back to help soothe United’s issues at left-back and performed ably.
His heatmap from Saturday’s game illustrates a left-back who largely offered width whenever United were in possession and tried his best to get forward.
United’s attacking plans — built around crossfield passes and Rasmus Hojlund’s movement — often meant the ball was worked down the right flank before a switch towards Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing. When Marcus Rashford and Dalot got forward to kickstart United’s attack down one wing, it fell to Martinez to shuffle over and form a three-man defensive base.
Take a look at the image below at this moment partway into the first half. Martinez is not playing like an ‘inverted’ full-back, as he attempted to be in this season’s Community Shield. Instead, he holds some width at full-back while those ahead try to pull Brentford players out of position.
When Martinez came onto the ball, he kept things simple. Most of his passes recycled possession back into central areas or he looked to tee up Garnacho ahead.
When defending out of possession, Martinez was his typical tenacious self. Primarily tasked with stopping Bryan Mbeumo out wide, he opted to get touch-tight and limit any opportunities for his opponent to turn and dribble down the line.
This instance in the 37th minute was typical of his performance. Brentford attempted to get a ball forward into Mbeumo’s path, only for Martinez to be on his back…
Casemiro was also important to this approach, as he and Martinez often doubled up and hounded Brentford players out of possession whenever possible.
Martinez did this throughout the game, holding a good position close to Mbeumo before the ball was played…
Before snapping into the forward once the pass was made…
A look at his defensive actions (the shield icons) in the game helps illustrate this, as Martinez took it upon himself to ensure Mbeumo had a game to forget.
United’s winning goal came through a vital interception from the defender. In the 61st minute, Brentford were boxed in…
They attempted to kick the ball long into the path of Mbeumo, but Martinez plucked possession away.
He then played in Christian Eriksen, whose excellent pass found Bruno Fernandes. His flick-on freed Hojlund in the penalty area, who finished the move with a delightful dink.
United won on Saturday after a strong second-half performance, and Martinez was one of several players who found a higher gear after the restart. So should Ten Hag keep Martinez at left-back, ahead of Dalot? Perhaps.
Despite the positive aspects of his performance, there were still occasions where Mbeumo got onto the ball out wide and presented defensive situations that Martinez doesn’t enjoy.
However, on this occasion, the Brentford forward cut back inside rather than test the defender out wide.
Martinez did well to track Mbeumo, but the ball eventually made its way to Christian Norgaard.
And his curling shot required a save from Andre Onana…
Saying United’s best centre-back is less effective when asked to play at left-back is not the most revelatory statement, but it is worth investigating how Martinez adjusted to his temporary new role.
When he first arrived in England, much was made of Martinez’s height (5ft 7in/175cm) and his physical ability to deal with Premier League attackers. The 26-year-old made a mockery of early predictions he would struggle in the Premier League due to his keen sense of timing and body control when making a tackle.
However, there have been instances when that sense of timing has been thrown off.
Martinez appears uncomfortable when having to defend larger areas of space, or when he has to retreat and make a run down the outside (as Mohamed Salah showed the world in March last year). These worries can be mitigated with proper communication and coordination from his team-mates, and on Saturday, Evans provided a helping hand and an observant eye for Martinez.
On more than one occasion, Evans could be seen encouraging Martinez to get forward or when to tuck inside and squeeze any potential space Mbeumo could have eked out between the pair.
Following Evans’ excellent performance against Aston Villa at the start of the month, Graham Potter said a defender “doesn’t always have to be the fastest, so long as they are on time”.
Against Brentford, Martinez and Evans got their timing right in most of their defensive actions.
In August, The Athletic attempted to outline Ten Hag’s options at left-back with Shaw and Malacia out injured. We believed the benefits of keeping Martinez at centre-back outweighed any solidity he could offer at full-back. However, the continued absence of the natural left-backs and their uncertain return dates from injury means there is value in Martinez continuing out wide.
Ten Hag has spent a sizeable portion of his United tenure discussing the need for left-footed players and how their orientation affects the side’s ability to defend and attack.
Unfortunately, he has needed to spend the better part of a year without those players. Martinez’s move to left-back is an imperfect but useful solution to a tricky period. Time will tell if the United manager chooses to continue with it.
(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
