JAKARTA - Anthony Martial was loaned to Sevilla last season when his Manchester United career seemed to be over. But the French striker actually returned to his best performance when he met the Spanish club in the Europa League.
Marcus Rashford's injury means Martial most likely led United's attack when they traveled to Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Thursday, April 20 for a Europa League semi-final ticket.
United's two own goals in the last minute of the first leg at Old Trafford left them 2-2 on aggregate with the Europa League specialist.
Martial played a big role to put United 2-0 up thanks to Marcel Sabitzer's two goals in the first 21 minutes.
Quoted from AFP via Antara, the Austrian midfielder may not be able to play Erik ten Hag due to an injury while warming up ahead of United's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, April 16.
Mid-back Raphael Varane and Leandro Martinez will also miss a trip to Spain due to an injury in the first leg.
However, United's biggest blow could have been due to the absence of Bruno Fernandes due to the accumulation of yellow cards. Fernandes became one of United's key players in guarding midfield with Christian Eriksen and Casemiro.
In 17 matches as the three of them appeared, United had won 15 matches and drew twice, AFP noted.
Unrealized potential
The injury problem has dampened Martial's influence on his club this season after previously coloring his career at United.
The most expensive young player in his time when he was recruited from Monaco in 2015, Martial (27) never realized his true potential despite scoring 86 goals for the club in 288 appearances.
His appearance at Sevilla was not even very fertile.
Set aside due to Cristiano Ronaldo's return to United, Martial looked for the first team in Spain, but scored just one goal in 12 appearances in the second half of last season.
Ronaldo's departure last year gave Martial a last chance to save his career at Old Trafford.
However, the problem of fitness restricting Martial's movement has only appeared 19 times from United's 51 matches to date. However, United Boss Ten Hag still has hopes for the player number 9.
Meanwhile, Rashford's 28 goals, the most for him in a season, have colored United's journey.
However, the England international said he preferred to play in the left wing rather than be the spearhead in the middle.
Ten Hag's patience with Wout Weghorst has also run low in recent weeks after the Dutch striker scored just two goals in 22 games.
"When he was fit, our team played better," said Ten Hag about the impact of Martial.
"He's an amazing player. He can connect, keep the ball, also the pressure is good. He's going to score goals, he's able to score goals. He can make a finish and no doubt about that."
Martial has scored seven goals with an average of one goal every 133 minutes under Ten Hag.
However, he still has to prove himself to convince United to extend his contract.
Ten Hag's squad faces a busy week in their trophy hat trick search as the League Cup winner will face Brighton in the FA Cup semi-finals after returning from Sevilla headquarters.
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