Gary Neville used Lisandro Martinez and two of the Manchester United defender’s teammates to make a powerful point about the Bournemouth result on Monday.
Manchester United hosted Bournemouth at Old Trafford for their latest Premier League outing and the Red Devils played out an enthralling 4-4 draw.
The Red Devils were 2-1 up at the half-time whistle on Monday evening, despite Ruben Amorim’s men missing more chances in the first half to extend their lead.
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Bournemouth rallied back against United in the opening 10 minutes of the second half and Andoni Iraola’s men took a 3-2 lead over the Red Devils.
Ruben Amorim watched on from the Old Trafford dugout as United stunned Bournemouth by restoring their lead over the Cherries in the 79th minute.
However, United were unable to hold onto their 4-3 lead in the Premier League match and Bournemouth found a crucial equaliser in the 84th minute of the clash.
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Lisandro Martinez during the Premier League match between Wolves and Manchester United at the Molineux in 2025 in Wolverhampton, England.
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Gary Neville’s feelings on Man Utd’s performance and Lisandro Martinez’s role in the Bournemouth match
Lisandro Martinez climbed off the bench in the second half and replaced Leny Yoro in the 69th minute as Manchester United were trailing Bournemouth 3-2 in the tie.
The 27-year-old Argentine is being eased back into United first-team action by Ruben Amorim after spending a lengthy period on the sideline due to a knee injury.
United manager Amorim has been forced to shake up his defensive line in the absence of Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire amid Martinez’s phased return.
The Red Devils had United talent Ayden Heaven playing in the backline alongside Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw in Monday’s 4-4 draw against Bournemouth.
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Ruben Amorim quote after Bournemouth
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Gary Neville singled out Martinez alongside absentees Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire for the struggles of the United defence without any of them present.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the United legend said: “I enjoyed what I’ve seen tonight from those red shirts.
“Defensively, it’s to be expected, when you think that De Ligt, Maguire and Martinez are not playing, and you’ve got obviously a couple of young defenders.
“It doesn’t look like a defence that’s going to keep clean sheets.
“You’re thinking before the game, you probably have to score four to win this game, and four wasn’t enough; it needed to be five.”
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Ruben Amorim speaks out on Man Utd’s defensive frailties after the 4-4 Bournemouth result at Old Trafford
Amorim admitted that it was “really frustrating” to see the Red Devils allow Bournemouth to capitalise on fewer chances compared with how many United had.
“I think we are pressing better, we are controlling better the game far from our goal,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“We are lacking quality when we defend our goal.”
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Speaking at his post-match press conference as well, he added: “It’s something that we need to address, of course.
“I think it’s different when you suffer so many goals and the opponent doesn’t have the same amount – not even near – that we create, it’s really frustrating.
“But we need to work a lot [on] the way we defend the box.”
Sixth-place United will now travel to Villa Park and Amorim’s men will meet third-place Aston Villa on late Sunday afternoon for their next Premier League clash.
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