Manchester United reporter Samuel Luckhurst criticised Anthony Martial in this afternoon's FA Cup semi-final penalty shootout victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Martial got the nod from the off again…
Erik ten Hag made a number of changes to the side that lost to Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday, however, Martial kept his place in the starting XI for his 21st appearance of the season.
The 27-year-old was making just his second FA Cup appearance, leading the line with Marcus Rashford, Antony and Bruno Fernandes in behind.
Luckhurst said before the game that Martial needed to show up for the Red Devils, seven years after his FA Cup semi-final winner against Everton.
However, during his live updates for the game, The Manchester Evening News reporter criticised the striker, labelling him a passenger at half-time and giving him a 4/10 rating, changing that score to 3/10 on the full-time whistle.
What did the stats say on Martial?
As per SofaScore, Martial played 85 minutes before being replaced by Jadon Sancho but had just 24 touches of the ball, the fewest of any Red Devils starter.
The forward ended with a 6.7/10 match rating and failed to have a shot on target, with his only effort failing to trouble Robert Sanchez. Martial gave possession away on five occasions, lost 63% of his 16 duels and was unsuccessful in his only dribble attempt, failing to have an impact in the final third.
Therefore, you could say that Luckhurst's criticism of the attacker was justified, with Martial still looking to get back to his best following a number of injury issues this season.
