Monday night, saw Manchester United resurrect themselves in what was a must-win game following the atrocious start to the season. Erik Ten Hag opted for a brand new centre-back pairing in Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, as to why he chose Varane over the captain Harry Maguire, Ten Hag stated, "Varane is a very experienced player, won everything and will bring the communication in the back four." and added, "We want mobility and agility in the back four.". Ten Hag just described a player who is in many ways a polar opposite to Maguire, as Maguire has won nothing and lacks communication while also being deficient in mobility and agility. So is Ten Hag moving away from Maguire? Who should play against Southampton? And who is best suited to play in this evolving United side?
Lisandro Martinez
Lisandro Martinez is probably the most nailed-down player in the team at this point following a strong start which has seen him invalidate early concerns about his height. Despite narratives by the media painting Martinez as a flop following the Brentford loss, Martinez in that game actually dominated, winning 100% of his duels, while also making 2 clearances, and 2 interceptions all while boasting a 91% pass accuracy. Martinez simply was let down by those around him specifically David De Gea who was at fault for at least 2 of the goals conceded. Lisandro Martinez while not the strongest in the air is no slouch, and uses his football IQ to outsmart his aerial opponents in order to win duels. In terms of ground duels, Martinez is immense as seen multiple times against Liverpool.
Lisandro Martinez brings a composed and technical aspect to the defence while also being aggressive and tenacious, Martinez has that 'dawg' in him. Technique-wise, Martinez's high pass completion rate and ball retention stats mean he is a safe bet for goalkeeper distribution, against Liverpool he had an 82% pass completion rate while 50% of these were forward as opposed to 31% against Brentford. Martinez's ball-playing skills mixed with his dogged defensive style make him a necessity to start ahead of other options who are often passive.
Raphael Varane
Varane was Incredible against Liverpool, giving his opponents no room to manoeuvre and getting the best of whomever he was faced with. Varane proved himself a force in the air winning 2/2 aerial duels and also winning 4/6 ground duels, showing himself to be undoubtedly United's best option to slot in alongside Martinez in the RCB role. Varane has only one negative in that he is hugely injury prone, and while he has spent his summer prior to pre-season on a specialised training plan in order to build fitness, it is yet to be seen whether this will make a difference. It is clear however that when fit Varane walks into the side now, ahead of the captain, especially after proving himself against Liverpool, I certainly cannot see Maguire getting back into the team anytime soon.
Why do they work?
Martinez and Varane primarily work as a defensive pairing because both are top-class, however, both have weaknesses which have been exposed when placed next to Harry Maguire within the side. When together however these weaknesses are covered, Varane's aerial dominance makes up for Martinez being not amazing in the air, while Martinez's similar dominance in ground duels makes them a perfect defensive duo.
Below is a graphic from
SmarterScout which showcases both players strengths and weaknesses, quantified by a 1-100 score in each department:
As seen here in the graphic, the two defenders complement each other and this allows us to play to their strengths. In an ideal world, Martinez and Varane remain fit all season as they are perfect together, however, if injuries do occur, Maguire and Victor Lindelof present satisfactory understudies to fill in. Along with the addition of Casemiro in defensive midfield, while it may be too soon to say, it looks like years and years of defensive woe at Manchester United could finally be behind us... surely...
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