Lisandro Martínez launched a forceful attack Manchester United Technical director Jason Wilcox and the club’s transfer market after the 2-0 defeat to Atlético de Madrid.
United were beaten 2-0 thanks to goals from Pablo Barrios and Ademola Lookmanwith Leny Yoro showing a red card to leave the Red Devils with just two wins from their first nine games of the season.
The centre-back told Prime Video: “Very poor. Very poor. I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it’s a mirror reflection of how our club is at the moment.”
“We had a fantastic season last season and now we expect more players from the top, more players to compete because many teams also bring many players. Atlético have an amazing team and they deserve to win today.
“I expect more (investment). 100%. I expect more from our manager (Jason Wilcox). I have to be honest, as players we have to do more, but it’s also important when you make a strong team to be ready for tonight.”
Martínez: “I’m not seeing my team trying to get a result”
Martinez did not hold back on where he believed United’s struggles were to blame, expressing his frustration that he felt they could not perform at their highest level after securing a return to the Champions League under Michael Carrick last season.
The Argentine added: “In general, last season we did everything, we created the foundation to create a fantastic team.
“It’s upsetting, disappointing to come here and I can’t see my team trying to get an amazing result here.”
“The manager was not supportive enough”
Gabriel Clarke asked Martinez if he thought Carrick didn’t have enough support in the summer transfer window, which saw them bring in four new players, including midfielder Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba.
“I don’t think so,” Martinez replied. “He does his best. Every season is different.
“You can’t stay with what you did last season. The teams know how you play, they know all the details, if you don’t change next season it’s a big problem.”
“You can’t keep changing, changing, changing managers. What about the other areas? I can’t say more.
“Tonight it’s easy to say the coach, easy to say the players, but we also have to see other areas.”
Match statistics
Carrick refuses to comment on Martinez’s outburst
Manager Carrick refused to comment on the outburst, insisting: “I haven’t seen it. After a game like that, you come here to try and get something out of the game and you’re disappointed and you can get emotional.
“I haven’t seen it, so I don’t think it’s the right time.
“We all care and show it in different ways, but now is the time to stand together and work.”
Mixed feelings for Carrick
Of the performance, Carrick said: “A bit of a mixed bag. It’s a tough enough place to come and obviously to start with what we had puts us in a difficult position, but I thought we grew into the game.
“We started to have a bit of control in the second half without having a real threat. Then there was Bruno’s chance and then the red card, which I thought was a bad decision.
“Really disappointed with the chances we had that we didn’t have more.
“We tried something a little different. Defensively, we probably changed the game too much. We felt the game was there for us, that’s the main thing, so we could and should have gotten more out of it.
“We have to find a safe way. Tonight is a unique game on trial, it’s the Champions League and a difficult place to get to.
“We’re doing certain things right.”
