Rio Ferdinand criticises Lisandro Martinez and calls for culture shift in Manchester United's defending

Manchester United blew a 1-0 lead against Tottenham when Dominic Solanke scored a stoppage time equaliser.

After riding their luck against Tottenham for 90 minutes, Manchester United came undone in injury time when Dominic Solanke diverted in a late cross.

Lisandro Martinez was marking Solanke, but he was more invested in trying to block him than attacking the ball. He failed to do either.

Speaking via YouTube, Rio Ferdinand criticised Martinez’s priorities: “He’s fighting the man rather than going for the ball, when he’s at a disadvantage already height-wise.”

United had to settle for a 1-1 draw, a fourth consecutive Premier League game without a victory. The team has earned only six points from six games.

While he was unhappy with Martinez’s defending, Ferdinand believes a wider cultural change is needed in United’s backline.

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Ferdinand urges United to stop crosses

Lisandro Martinez’s mistake was only part of the issue. Rio Ferdinand argued that his teammates should never have allowed the cross to be delivered in the first place.

Harking back to his own playing career, Ferdinand said he used to shout at his full-backs if they did not prevent crosses coming into the box. He wants the United players to become obsessed with preventing them.

Ferdinand explained: “I don’t see enough energy to stop crosses in this team.

“I don’t see anybody, when the ball comes in the box, asking ‘why are you letting them cross the ball?’

“Those standards have to be set every day, in training and in games. It’s got to be an obsessive trait, where you find it offensive where the balls are coming into the box.”

Manchester United will be put under pressure aerially when the team visit Leeds at Elland Road this coming weekend. Dominic Calvert-Lewin caused problems during Leeds’ surprise win at Old Trafford last season.

Part of the issue is defending the balls inside the box, but as Ferdinand points out, stopping them at source is the best way to prevent the goals in the first place.

Owen Hargreaves’ own dissection of the goal also pointed the finger at Bryan Mbeumo for failing to block Sandro Tonali’s cross.

This does not absolve Lisandro Martinez of his own bad handling of the situation, but football is a team game, and United need to be switched on at all times, throughout the team.

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