Martial the hero and the villain
On any tough road trip it is never a good idea to concede a soft goal early, yet this is exactly what the inexperienced Martial was guilty of on this occasion. A totally unnecessary handball in United’s box gave the referee little choice and with less than a quarter of an hour gone, the home side had an ideal chance to claim the ascendency. David de Gea continued his stellar form since returning to the United line-up with a wonderful save from Roman Eremenko’s penalty, only to see Seydou Doumbia react first and put away the deflected ball.
The Red Devils were slow to react following the goal but eventually found their rhythm in the second-half. Ander Herrera played through Antonio Valencia on the right-wing, whose cross found an unmarked Martial to finishwith a superb diving header.
It was a stunning and crucial goal from the young French star, who had been enduring somewhat of a relative drought following his red-hot start to his Old Trafford career. The goal was a pure act of redemption, securing a vital point that should go along way to easing progress into the next round.
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