Reliance on Martial is evident as United lose in Cadiz friendly
- Published
Simon Stone, BBC Sport in Cadiz
Anthony Martial and 17-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo were both on the scoresheet but it wasn’t enough to prevent Manchester United suffering a 4-2 defeat to La Liga outfit Cadiz in Wednesday's friendly.
The match is part of a warm weather training camp in southern Spain for Erik ten Hag’s side ahead of the domestic campaign resuming just before Christmas.
United still have 11 players on World Cup duty in Qatar. Realistically, with the addition of Christian Eriksen and Facundo Pellistri, who both experienced group stage exits with Denmark and Uruguay respectively, those on duty against Cadiz will be the players Ten Hag is picking from for the EFL Cup fourth round tie with Burnley on 21 December.
Martial’s goal came from the penalty spot, a well-executed Panenka, after Zidane Iqbal had been fouled.
With Cristiano Ronaldo leaving, Marcus Rashford amongst those still in Qatar and Jadon Sancho absent from this trip as he works on his fitness, Ten Hag will be heavily reliant on Martial at least until the transfer window opens next month.
After changing his entire starting line-up for the second period, highly rated local talent Mainoo profited when he cut inside the penalty area and fired home thanks to a massive deflection.
Of the senior players involved, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, whose single first-team appearance this season came as a substitute against Liverpool in August, and fellow defender Brandon Williams, who has yet to feature, both made welcome returns after long-standing injury problems.