Lisandro Martinez responds to criticism from Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes

Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has reacted to criticism from club legends Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes after the Red Devils defeated Manchester City 2-0 on Saturday.

Martinez played the full 90 minutes in United’s Premier League game at Old Trafford, demonstrating his full match fitness.

The Argentine returned from ACL injury in November and has made 11 appearances across all competitions this season, and has struggled for form in recent times.

Ahead of the Manchester derby, Butt and Scholes both criticised Martinez and predicted that he would struggle against Erling Haaland.

"There’s every chance he [Haaland] will target him [Martinez], of course he will," Scholes said.

Butt added: "Haaland would pick Martinez up and run with him. It would be like when you see a dad at school running down the road like that with a little toddler, that’s what it would be like."

However, Manchester United’s defence was rock solid, defending excellently. At the same time, Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scored goals in the second half to help new interim manager Michael Carrick start his stint perfectly.

When Lisandro Martinez was asked about the criticism from United legends after the match, he responded, saying, "What I can do is show it on the pitch."

"You know people can always talk whatever they want, it’s something I can’t control. What I can only do is show it on the pitch. I think today I showed it. Imagine if we thought what the people said, it shows we have to be focused for the best of this club, we want to change this situation and we’re the only ones who can change it," Martinez said.