Lisandro Martinez blamed for Spurs’ equaliser but Hargreaves says his teammate made actual mistake

For the second game in a row, Lisandro Martinez was at the centre of a goal conceded by Man Utd, but Owen Hargreaves thinks he didn’t make the actual mistake.

Having conceded an unfortunate own goal against Fulham before the international break, Lisandro Martinez’s wrestling match vs Dominic Solanke saw Spurs score a late equaliser.

That 1-1 draw has punctured all the enthusiasm in and around the club, with Martinez’s suitability coming under scrutiny again.

However, Owen Hargreaves believes that the actual mistake was made by his teammate, leaving the Argentine in a no-win situation.

Owen Hargreaves absolves Lisandro Martinez

Martinez is getting blamed for getting into a wrestling match against Solanke, giving the striker enough space to glance the goal in via a header.

In a physical duel, Solanke was always likely to come out on top due to his height advantage against Martinez, especially if he is able to hold him off.

While there is certainly merit in that criticism, Owen Hargreaves believes that the true culprit for that goal had already made a mistake by then.

He was talking about Bryan Mbeumo, who was up against Sandro Tonali, who crossed the ball for Solanke to score the equaliser.

Hargreaves said that Tonali should never have been allowed to cross the ball with his stronger right foot, and it happened because Mbeumo didn’t close him down.

Once the cross arrived, Martinez was always likely to be second-best in the duel, and so it proved.

He said: “Initially don’t let Tonali cross that. Mbeumo should close him down, don’t let him cross with his right. Martinez likes to be physical but Solanke is bigger. He needs to be clever. Sometimes, it just needs a touch. Martinez can’t really see it.”

Could Martinez have done better to deal with Solanke’s threat? Of course. But the reality is that he shouldn’t have had to if Mbeumo made life difficult for him in the initial phase of the attack.

Those are the margins that separate an elite team from a functional one, and why Michael Carrick needs to be questioned for not prioritising intensity and physicality in his coaching.

United are getting beat on moments like closing down, second balls, 50-50 situations, and all of that is likely because technical quality is being preferred far more than physicality.

It’s a complete and extreme swing of the spectrum from Ruben Amorim’s days, and neither is good.