Manchester United are FA Cup winners once again having produced an exceptional performance against Manchester City on Saturday.
United players travelled down to Wembley with the doubts of pundits and many fans alike hanging over them.
This has been a testing campaign and few were expecting United to leave Wembley with another FA Cup heading into the cabinet.
A poor Premier League campaign, two defeats to City in the Premier League this season, defeat to City in last season’s FA Cup final and the unconvincing semi-final win over Coventry City didn’t exactly breed confidence.
United were outstanding though; committed and determined off the ball, completely limiting City’s attacking play and dangerous on the ball, executing swift transitions to great effect.
There may have been some fortune with the opening goal but United picked City apart to add the second and take the game away from Pep Guardiola’s side.
City’s late goal didn’t lead to an equaliser though and everybody connected with United was able to celebrate a memorable afternoon at Wembley.
Wayne Rooney on Lisandro Martinez
United thoroughly deserved the victory and some fans may be left wondering where this kind of performance has been for most of the season.
There was a real organisation about United’s work off the ball, something we haven’t seen for large parts of the campaign.
A key factor was the performance of defender Lisandro Martinez, with the Argentinian passed fit to play in the final after an injury-hit season.
The centre back is an important part of the United back line but has barely been able to feature this season.
Martinez’s presence against City was huge but he did go off with just over 25 minutes to play, unable to continue as Jonny Evans came on in his place.
Martinez certainly did his job at the back though and barely gave Erling Haaland a sniff of the United goal in a superb performance.
Wayne Rooney was certainly impressed and offered huge praise for the United centre back whilst speaking on BBC Sport.
Discussing Martinez’s display at half-time, Rooney noted that he saw Martinez constantly organising the United side, showing great leadership in a huge game.
Rooney feels that Martinez is a ‘great organiser’ at the back and his sheer presence at the back was a major help to United’s cup final triumph.
“I think with Martinez, you see every time the camera has gone on him, he’s talking, he’s organising, he’s pulling players into positions,” said Rooney. “He’s a great organiser and that’s really helped,” he added.
United need Martinez fit and available
Every United fan is well aware of Martinez’s quality and his influence as a leader in the heart of the United back line.
Saturday’s performance won’t have come as a surprise to anybody but we need to see more of Martinez in action next season.
The old adage is that the best ability is availability and Martinez just hasn’t been able to tick that box since arriving from Ajax.
United and Martinez need to get to the bottom of the injury problems this summer; maybe it’s just a case of being unlucky, but maybe there is something that can be addressed to make sure Martinez is available more often than not.
Saturday’s performance was enormous but just leaves United fans hoping and praying for Martinez to be a fixture of the United side for next season.