Manchester United: Red Devils charged £82,000 for failing to control players

 

Manchester United have received two separate fines for incidents in matches against Newcastle and Chelsea

Manchester United have been fined £82,000 by the Football Association for the conduct of their players in matches against Newcastle and Chelsea.

The following week Erik ten Hag's side were frustrated when Chelsea were awarded a late penalty.

United have accepted the fines of £42,000 and £37,000, respectively.

Referee Craig Pawson was surrounded by United players after ruling out Ronaldo's goal against Newcastle - saying the Magpies had not taken a free-kick before Ronaldo raced up to nick possession away from goalkeeper Nick Pope and tap into an empty net.

After disallowing the goal, Pawson also booked Ronaldo for leading his team-mates' angry reaction to the decision.

The FA charge, which said United "failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion" was brought in October.

Manager Erik ten Hag also went straight to Pawson at the final whistle, and said afterwards: "I don't have a comment. I shared that with them. Everyone has seen it."

The following week, Chelsea were awarded a penalty when Scott McTominay was judged to have shoved Armando Broja to the ground and players surrounded referee Stuart Attwell.

Jorginho's spot-kick was later cancelled out by Casemiro's injury-time equaliser and the match finished 1-1.

Ronaldo had already been charged earlier this season for knocking a phone out of a young fan's hand after United's match against Everton.

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Nicolò Fagioli finds place in Juventus side refreshed by fountain of youth

 

Juventus should have listened to Nicolò Fagioli a little sooner. “Young players need to play,” said the 21-year-old midfielder in May, as he prepared to return to the Bianconeri after a season on loan at Cremonese. He was talking in broad terms, citing call-ups by the Italy manager Roberto Mancini as evidence of shifting national attitudes, but also about his personal development at the same time.

“I have supported Juve since I was a boy and for me it would be a dream to wear that shirt, but I need to understand what their intentions are for me,” Fagioli said. “If they have a journey in mind for us to take together, then I could not be more up for that … I repeat, though, if they are good enough, young players need to play.”

For much of the summer, another loan deal appeared the most likely scenario. Several top-flight clubs made enquiries, Sampdoria and Empoli the most concrete among them. Promoted Monza tried to sign Fagioli outright. Instead, the player stayed and extended his contract to 2026.

Massimiliano Allegri is a long-term admirer. Already in 2018, during his previous stint at the club, the manager highlighted Fagioli’s promise, saying: “We have a kid, born in 2001, and watching him play football is a pleasure because he understands the game. He has the timing, he knows how to lose a marker, when and where to pass the ball.”

Fagioli was supposed to to make his senior debut that season, but a cardiac arrhythmia diagnosis put everything on hold. He underwent surgery and made a gradual return with Juventus Under-23s, competing in Italian football’s third tier. He finally made his Serie A debut under Andrea Pirlo in February 2021 before his season-long switch to Cremonese, for whom he chipped in three goals and seven assists to help secure promotion to the top flight.

Despite that, he started this season far down the pecking order at Juventus. In interviews, Allegri said he envisioned a starting midfield of Adrien Rabiot, Leandro Paredes and Paul Pogba, with Manuel Locatelli as the first change off the bench. Even as injuries derailed that plan, Weston McKennie and a different youth team graduate, Fabio Miretti, plugged the gaps.

Nicolo Fagioli (fourth from right), Samuel Iling-Junior (fifth from right) and Fabio Miretti (second right) pictured in Juventus training. Photograph: Daniele Badolato/Juventus FC/Getty Images

Fagioli had played a total of 39 minutes in Serie A this season before Juventus went away to Lecce on 29 October. He replaced McKennie at half-time with the game goalless and went on to score a sensational winner, pivoting to bend a shot in off the post. Allegri rewarded him with a Champions League start against Paris Saint-Germain.

Juventus lost – their fifth defeat in six group games – but Fagioli impressed with his confidence, enjoying a viral moment when he evaded Leo Messi in midfield. He kept his place in the lineup for Sunday’s Derby d’Italia against Inter. A show of faith, or simply a reflection of the scarce options available, with Pogba, Paredes and McKennie all injured and Miretti required to fill in as the No 10 due to further absences up front.

In theory, Juventus’s formation was a 3-5-1-1, but in practice it looked more like a 4-5-1 during a grim first half in which the Bianconeri showed little ambition beyond protecting their goal. They didn’t do a flawless job of that, either. Inter might have taken the lead with better finishing from Lautaro Martínez or Denzel Dumfries. But in the second half, everything changed.

Inter started on the front foot again, Hakan Çalhanoglu forcing Wojciech Szczesny to tip the ball onto his crossbar, but Juventus took the lead with a counterattack from a corner just four minutes later. Filip Kostic showed impressive strength to hold off Nicolò Barella before spinning away and sprinting 60 yards down the left flank. He cut the ball inside for Adrien Rabiot, who opened up his body for a first-time finish across goal.

Juventus thought they had extended their lead when defender Danilo bundled home from a corner, only for the VAR booth to intervene, alerting the referee to a handball. No matter. In the 84th, Gleison Bremer made a brilliant challenge to take the ball off the toes of Marcelo Brozovic as the Inter player bore down on goal.

Once again, Juventus broke forward, and once again the ball found its way to Kostic. His square ball found Fagioli, who took a touch before firing back across goal. The shot deflected off Robin Gosens and wrong-footed Inter’s goalkeeper, Andre Onana, on its way to the back of the net.

It was a less spectacular goal than Fagioli’s previous effort, but just as decisive. Juventus held on for a 2-0 win that lifts them above their rivals in the table. No small landmark for a team that began this season with two wins from its first seven games. Inter were supposed to be the form team coming into this matchup, with six wins and a draw from their last seven games in all competitions.

This is not a moment for hyperbole. Juventus did not have a shot on goal in the first half of Sunday and are fifth, 10 points off the top of Serie Aand badly bruised by their Champions League humiliation. Allegri dampened down any attempt to define this as a “turning point”, even if he did also hint that he still believes his team can compete for the Scudetto.

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Few might share that conviction, yet the role of young players in Juve’s recent uptick is allowing at least a measure of optimism to return. Before Fagioli, it was the English winger Samuel Iling-Junior making headlines as he came off the bench to transform the game away to Benfica, setting up one goal and helping to make another as Allegri’s team rallied from 4-1 down to almost steal a draw.

Miretti, meanwhile, has already played 17 times for Juventus this season. These stories represent a triumph for Juventus’s decision to relaunch the Under-23 side, recently rebranded as Juventus Next Gen, into the senior divisions after it became legal to do so four years ago.

On Sunday, Fagioli helped bring structure to the midfield, quietly constructing from his deep-lying position, playing the simple passes that allowed moves to begin. Allegri sees this as the player’s natural home, sitting in front of the defence, and has expressed frustration before now at the fact his previous coaches rarely used him here.

More than anything, though, what these academy graduates have brought is a fresh, wholehearted commitment. It was only a few weeks ago that Juventus’s president, Andrea Agnelli, accused his team of being afraid to make a tackle. Now they have kept four consecutive league clean sheets.

Quick Guide Serie A results Show

Friday: Udinese 1-1 Lecce. Sat: Atalanta 1-2 Napoli, Empoli 1-0 Sassuolo, Milan 2-1 Spezia, Salernitana 2-2 Cremonese. Sun: Bologna 2-1 Torino, Juventus 2-0 Inter, Monza 2-0 Verona, Roma 0-1 Lazio, Sampdoria 0-2 Fiorentina.

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“I remember Phil Foden when I was at Manchester City,” said Danilo last week. “He was 17 years old, I could see in his eyes that he had that desire to learn, to improve. Here at Juventus now I see players like Miretti, like Fagioli, who have that same desire. For those of us who are more experienced, it can give us that extra push.

“I try to talk to them often, to give them some advice, but it’s something that helps me first of all, that motivates me. I get something extra from being with them.”

Allegri will be wary of overburdening these young players, of the pressure that a few good performances can bring. Yet they themselves do not crave protection. Fagioli was explicit in that interview back in May: “Yes,” he told Sportweek magazine. “I feel ready for Serie A.”

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Chelsea want Brighton’s Winstanley to join Stewart on recruitment team

 

Chelsea are set to continue the rebuild of their recruitment department by appointing Monaco’s Laurence Stewart and are also looking to poach Brighton & Hove Albion’s head of recruitment, Paul Winstanley.

Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have been making changes to Chelsea’s infrastructure since buying the club in May and are looking to build a strong recruitment team around the head coach, Graham Potter. Christopher Vivell, who was fired by RB Leizpig last month, is poised to join as technical director and Joe Shields is due to arrive as co-director of recruitment once he has seen out his gardening leave at Southampton.

A deal to hire Stewart, Monaco’s technical director, has been agreed and Chelsea have held talks over taking Winstanley from Brighton. Winstanley has developed a good reputation at Brighton, who have earned plaudits for their smart signings in recent years. The Guardian reported that Chelsea were looking at him last month and the club are ready to solidify their interest.

It is believed that Winstanley will work closely with Shields, Stewart and Potter’s recruitment analyst, Kyle Macalauy. Winstanley knows Macaulay well from his time at Brighton.

Chelsea want at least four recruitment experts, with Vivell potentially given the responsibility of coordinating the department. Plans to hire a sporting director have been put to one side.

There have been suggestions that Boehly and Clearlake would like to create something akin to a transfer think-tank. The recruitment team could feed up to Boehly, who has been working as interim sporting director since June.

Boehly took that role after Marina Granovskaia left, with the departures of Scott McLachlan and Petr Cech leaving other holes to fill. Chelsea had initially looked to hire a sporting director and were close to appointing RB Salzburg’s Christoph Freund, only for that deal to collapse.

The indications are that Chelsea would rather have several recruitment experts than be reliant on one person. They want a collaborative approach, with links between the coaching staff, recruitment department and ownership. Boehly, who oversaw a heavy summer spending spree, could continue to take an active role in transfer negotiations in January.

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Chelsea could also look to appoint a new chief executive and a football operations manager.

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Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United forward must face consequences, says Erik ten Hag

 

Ronaldo refused to come on as substitute - Ten Hag

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said there "has to be consequences" after confirming Cristiano Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham on Wednesday.

Ronaldo, 37, left Old Trafford before full-time after leaving the bench and walking down the tunnel in the 89th minute of United's 2-0 win.

He has been dropped for Saturday's game at Chelsea and is training alone.

Asked directly whether Ronaldo refused to come on, Ten Hag said: "Yes."

He added that after the Portugal international did the same at half-time of the friendly against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season, he felt he had to act.

"The talk is between Cristiano and me. The statement is clear. It is also in the statement that he remains an important part of the squad," Ten Hag said.

"I am the manager, I am responsible for the culture here. I have to set standards and values and have to control them. We are in a team.

"After Rayo Vallecano, I said it was unacceptable, but it wasn't just him. The second time there has to be consequences. That is what has happened.

"We miss him tomorrow, that is a miss for us and the squad, but I think it is important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea - that is the most important."

Cristiano Ronaldo's behaviour 'unacceptable' - Micah Richards

Ronaldo's actions have been widely criticised, with Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker calling them "unacceptable" while former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said this was the first time he had been "disappointed" in the player.

On Thursday, Ronaldo said "the heat of the moment" had got to him, though he stopped short of apologising.

He has scored just one goal in eight Premier League appearances this season, and also showed his displeasure at being substituted in Sunday's 0-0 home draw with Newcastle.

United go into Saturday's game at Stamford Bridge just one point behind Chelsea in fifth and Ten Hag said his players would not be distracted by this week's drama.

"It's part of playing in top football," he said.

"There are rumours and noise and you can't get distracted, you have to remain on the job and get the result."

Analysis

Erik ten Hag couldn't have done any better.

He addressed the major issue around Cristiano Ronaldo directly, then explained why he felt it was important to take the action he did.

Then, once the broadcast media had finished, he answered more questions from the written press, which will appear in Saturday's newspapers.

It was not the first major test of Ten Hag's authority. But it was the biggest - and he has come through it with his status enhanced and Ronaldo's diminished. If there is a winner in such situations, Ten Hag is it.

The other point worth nothing is when he first took the United job, Ten Hag's English was hesitant. Now he can communicate with the media effectively - and forcefully.

With United beating Tottenham as well, it has been a good 48 hours for the Dutchman.

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Ballon d'Or: Karim Benzema wins award as best player in world football for first time

 

Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema has won the Ballon d'Or - awarded to the best footballer of the year - for the first time.

Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 games as he helped Real win the Champions League and La Liga in 2021-22.

Lionel Messi (seven) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five) had won the award on 12 of the previous 13 occasions.

Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane, who was at Liverpool in 2021-22, was second ahead of Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.

Barcelona's Alexia Putellas retained the Women's Ballon d'Or, awarded to the best best female footballer of 2022.

England Euro 2022 winner and Arsenal forward Beth Mead was second.

Premier League champions Manchester City, who had six nominees at the ceremony, were awarded Club of the Year ahead of Liverpool.

The Ballon d'Or is awarded to the best footballer of the year, based on performance over the 2021-22 season.

Zinedine Zidane (right) was the last Frenchman to win the Ballon d'Or First Frenchman to win prize since 1998

Monday's ceremony in Paris saw French F1 driver Esteban Ocon arrive at the Theatre du Chatelet with the Ballon d'Or trophy in a racing car.

Benzema is the first Frenchman to win the prestigious award since Zinedine Zidane in 1998. Zidane was at the event to present his countryman with the prize.

"This prize in front of me makes me really proud," said Benzema. "When I was small, it was a childhood dream, I never gave up. Anything is possible.

"I'm really proud of my journey here. It wasn't easy, it was a difficult time for my family as well."

Benzema was the overwhelming favourite to win this year's award.

His 44 goals included a hat-trick in 17 second-half minutes against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and another away to Chelsea in the quarter-final first leg.

He also scored three more goals over two legs of the semi-final against Manchester City.

The 34-year-old, who has been at Real Madrid since 2009, is expected to play a key role for France at the World Cup in Qatar which starts on 20 November.

The Ballon d'Or is voted for by 100 journalists from around the world.

Warm reception for Haller

Borussia Dortmund's former West Ham striker Sebastien Haller, who has recently undergone chemotherapy for a testicular tumour, received warm applause from the audience when he walked on stage to present the Yashin Trophy to Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois for best goalkeeper.

Liverpool's Alisson was second, with Ederson of Manchester City and Chelsea's Edouard Mendy third and fourth respectively. Tottenham's Hugo Lloris was 10th.

The Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best performing player under the age of 21, went to Barcelona and Spain midfielder Gavi, who turned 18 in August.

Sebastien Haller on stage at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, 19, was ranked fourth and England team-mate and Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka, 21, was eighth.

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski won the Gerd Muller Trophy awarded to the best striker after scoring 57 goals for Bayern Munich and Poland in 2021-22.

The inaugural Socrates Award, a humanitarian prize, went to Mane for his charity work.

Five-time winner Ronaldo ranked 20th

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the award in recent years, apart from in 2018 when Croatia midfielder Luka Modric won it.

Messi had already won the trophy more times than any other player and his seventh success in 2021 came after wins in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.

However, he was not nominated this time after an underwhelming first season at Paris St-Germain.

Manchester United's Ronaldo, who last won it in 2017, was placed 20th of the 30 players nominated, the Portuguese's lowest Ballon d'Or ranking since 2005.

Ballon d'Or results

1. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France).

2. Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich, Senegal).

3. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium).

4. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, Poland).

5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt).

6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain, France).

7. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium).

8. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid, Brazil).

9. Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia).

10. Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway).

11. Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur, South Korea)

12. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, Algeria).

13. Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund, Ivory Coast).

14. Fabinho (Liverpool, Brazil) tied with Rafael Leao (AC Milan, Portugal).

16. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands).

17. Luis Diaz (Liverpool, Colombia) tied with Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus, Serbia) and Casemiro (Manchester United, Brazil).

20. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal).

21. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, England).

22. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, England) tied with Phil Foden (Manchester City, England) and Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Portugal).

25. Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, Portugal) tied with Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, Germany), Mike Maignan (AC Milan, France), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, Germany), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool, Uruguay) and Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig, France).

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Karim Benzema Is The Rightful Winner Of This Year’s Ballon d’Or

MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 09: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid celebrates following their side's victory in ... [+] the UEFA Champions League Round Of Sixteen Leg Two match between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 09, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

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We are now finally living in the post-Ronaldo and Messi era.

It has been a glorious era marked by their almost complete dominance of the Ballon d’Or which saw the pair win it for ten consecutive years between 2008 and 2017, and for twelve of the thirteen times it has been awarded in the last fourteen years.

During this time Lionel Messi won it seven times, Cristiano Ronaldo five times, with Luka Modric being the only player to gatecrash their party in 2018, when either of the pair would still have been worthy winners.

That year Ronaldo finished as runner-up to Modric and Messi came fifth, when it felt like the award’s voters were driven by a desire to give it to someone else.

In the three years since Messi has won it again in 2019 and rather generously in 2021, with it being cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even in 2007 the pair both nearly won it, with Ronaldo finishing runner-up and Messi in third place behind the winner Kaka, who for the next ten years became a quiz question: “Who was the last player to win the Ballon d’Or before Messi and Ronaldo?”

It means that 2022 will incredibly be the first time for sixteen years that neither Ronaldo and Messi are in contention to win the award.

PARIS, FRANCE - DECEMBER 02: Lionel Messi (ARG / FC Barcelona) poses onstage after winning his sixth ... [+] Ballon D'Or award during the Ballon D'Or Ceremony at Theatre Du Chatelet on December 02, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images)

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There can now only be one real candidate to be crowned as the best player in the world at the award’s ceremony in Paris on Monday: Karim Benzema.

The Frenchman has played throughout the entire Messi and Ronaldo era, but not come close to winning the Ballon d’Or, never even coming in the final three, but this is certain to be his year.

Benzema signed for Real Madrid in the same summer as Ronaldo in 2009 and inevitably had to play in his shadow, but in the last twelve months he has been the main man and enjoyed the most stunning and prolific season of his career.

He finished the 2021-22 season with an incredible 44 goals in 46 games to help Real Madrid win both La Liga and the Champions League.

The 34-year-old striker had already enjoyed a brilliant career in the Spanish capital winning every trophy possible and scoring at an average of 23 goals per season across his twelve seasons there.

But last season he almost doubled that tally and was his side’s inspiration as they won their first Champions League since Ronaldo’s departure in 2018.

PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 28: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid lifts UEFA Champions League Trophy following ... [+] his team's victory in the UEFA Champions League final match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France on May 28, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Copa/Getty Images)

Getty Images

It is Benzema’s outstanding form in the latter stages of the Champions League that has made him such an overwhelming favourite to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.

In the second leg of Real Madrid’s round of sixteen tie against Paris Saint-Germain in March earlier this year they were losing 2-0 on aggregate and seemingly on their way out, only for Benzema to score a barely believable hat-trick in the space of 17 minutes to knock out the shocked French champions.

At the age of 34, Benzema became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League and in the course of it also reached 309 Real Madrid career goals to overtake the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano as the club’s third highest all-time goal scorer.

The following week Benzema’s two goals against Real Mallorca in La Liga also saw him overtake Thierry Henry as the all-time French leading goal scorer with 413 goals.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Benzema scored another hat-trick against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a 3-1 win, and in the second leg scored the tie’s winner in extra-time to put them through to the last four 5-4 on aggregate.

Benzema’s Champions League heroics continued in the semi-finals when he scored three more goals across the tie’s two games as Real Madrid triumphed 6-5 on aggregate over Manchester City.

TOPSHOT - France's forward Karim Benzema (L) and France's forward Kylian Mbappe arrive for a ... [+] training session at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris on June 7, 2021, on the eve of the friendly football match between France and Bulgaria. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

There would be no crowing goal in the final but Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in Paris to secure Benzema’s fifth Champions League. He also finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 15 goals and was voted the Champions League Player of the Year.

In La Liga he won his first Pichichi Trophy as Spain’s leading scorer with 27 goals in 32 games as Real Madrid became Spanish champions for a record 35th time.

This avalanche of goals, so many of them crucial game-changing contributions, brought his side two titles and has made it almost certain he will also win the Ballon d’Or.

He also doesn’t have any real competition, and there will be little suspense when the winner’s name is read out at the Chatelet Theatre on Monday.

Two of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah should feature in the final three, but they have no chance of winning it themselves.

This promises to be the greatest individual moment of Benzema’s career, and also coming just two months before he turns 35, an age where most strikers are some way past their best, he has spectacularly proved it is never too late. 

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Man Utd have their own ‘Sergio Ramos’ as mouthwatering Man City clash edges closer

Manchester United have their own Sergio Ramos in the form of Lisandro Martinez ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester City, according to Paul Parker. The Argentina international joined from Ajax back in the summer transfer window. And, though he experienced a difficult start to the season, he’s since bounced back to become one of the first names on Erik ten Hag’s team sheet.

Manchester United scouts suggested Ten Hag sign Pau Torres back in the summer, believing the Villarreal star would be tailor-made for life at Old Trafford.

However, the Red Devils ended up recruiting Martinez from Ajax instead after their new manager made it clear he wanted a reunion with the centre-back.

After a shaky start in defeats to Brighton and Brentford, the Argentina international has responded by becoming an undroppable figure at the back.

He’s been able to keep Harry Maguire on the bench at a time where the England international is struggling for form.

And former United star Parker, who won the Premier League title during his spell at Old Trafford, thinks Martinez can be compared to Ramos due to his impressive partnership with Raphael Varane.

Speaking to Betfred TV ahead of Sunday’s epic clash, he said: “Yes, the fans would definitely take a draw, but the main thing for Manchester United is the performance.

Man Utd transfers: Two players stopped the club making more signings

“For Varane, Martínez is the Sergio Ramos he had at Real Madrid. That warrior next to him.”

Martinez failed to make much of an impact when United lost 2-1 to Brighton in their opening Premier League match, with Pascal Gross scoring twice.

He then endured a horrific afternoon as the Red Devils were battered 4-0 by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

But, in the time since, Martinez has responded.

He’s starred in key wins over rivals such as Arsenal and Liverpool, managing to keep the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Mohamed Salah quiet during those contests.

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And he’s also helped United keep clean sheets in victories over the likes of Leicester, Southampton and Sheriff in the time since.

Against City, Martinez will go up against Erling Haaland - who has already netted 14 goals for the reigning Premier League champions this term.

And Chris Sutton, writing for the Daily Mail, thinks it’ll be a fascinating battle when the two teams step out at the Etihad.

"You don’t imagine 5ft 9in Martinez will be marking 6ft 4in Erling Haaland at corners in Sunday’s Manchester derby," he said.

"The photographers will be trying their hardest to show how one towers over the other.

Man Utd fixtures: When Erik ten Hag’s team face every Premier League team

"But for all that the United defender’s height has been highlighted, you have to be impressed with how he has bounced back from his initial struggles.

“He’s shown good aggression, as if he wants to let his critics know he can handle the Premier League.

"There is no greater challenge than Haaland, though, and this battle is one reason why Sunday’s derby will make for interesting viewing."

United will be hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened at the Etihad in the same fixture last term.

They lost 4-1 under Ralf Rangnick, with Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez bagging braces to give Pep Guardiola’s side all three points.

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