Man City's success may force Man Utd coach Erik ten Hag to turn back to Lisandro Martinez
The success of Manchester City's new tactical setup may force Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag to rethink Lisandro Martinez.
City have booked tickets to Istanbul for Wednesday night's Champions League final, thrashing Real Madrid 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium for a 5-2 win over the reigning European champions.
Although Real were not at their best on the evening, City were in good form. Bernardo Silva scored two dominant first-half goals for Pep Guardiola's side, before second-half goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez sealed the victory.
Real were limited to just three shots on target at the Etihad Stadium, all of which came in the second half of the game. Advertisement
And Kyle Walker silenced Los Blancos star Vinicius Junior on the left wing - something very few players can do in Europe.
But another key performance came from John Stones, who has played the defensive midfielder/backback role in recent months under Guardiola.
When City had the ball, the Stones moved up midfield and back in defense as Real made one of their rare breakthroughs.
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And that role could inspire Ten Hag to turn his head on Martinez.
Man City can force Man Utd to flip the bet
After signing for United last summer from Ajax, Martinez played almost exclusively on the left flank of the central midfield duo. But the Argentinian is versatile - he can also play at left-back or in a defensive midfielder if needed.
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But Ten Hag made it clear even before Martinez's arrival that he would not play in midfield, something the Dutchman has stuck to so far.
Speaking to ESPN in 2021, when he and Martinez were at Ajax, Ten Hag explained (quoted over 90 minutes):
"Daley Blind is not capable of running in midfield. Neither is Martinez."
However, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta seems to see things a little differently.
According to The Athletic, the Spaniard wanted to sign Martinez last summer to play as a left-back and backup central midfielder - roles that Oleksandr Zinchenko currently fills for the Gunners. defend by drifting into midfield and playing indoors. Advertisement
United are playing to a more traditional system when it comes to full-backs, but Ten Hag could draw inspiration from both Zinchenko and Stones and change tactics to close the gap on City next season.
One thing about City, however, is that they are constantly evolving under Guardiola, which means they could find new ways to outdo their opponents in the next campaign.
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