Tuesday Briefing: Why Martial's on a mission

Our fleet-footed no.9 scored 23 goals across all competitions in 2019/20 and was proudly voted the Players’ Player of the Year. But he is yet to open his account this campaign and earned a frustrating three-match Premier League ban following the red card he received against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.

Martial also netted an own goal against Paris Saint-Germain last Tuesday night, yet that unfortunate moment was ultimately irrelevant after Anthony and United recorded a brilliant 2-1 win over last season's Champions League finalists.

“These things happen,” explains the Frenchman in an interview for Wednesday’s edition of United Review. “But since it was my hometown club, I just wanted to give them a bit of a helping hand! [Laughs] No, seriously, that kind of thing can happen to anybody, but the main thing was that we managed to score the winning goal right at the death, and that was more important to me.

“I was really happy because my brothers and a lot of my family are United fans but my mates all support Paris. They’d all told me that we were going to lose, and I’d told them that we wouldn’t. So when we went on to win I was overjoyed!”

Reflecting on an enjoyable return to action from his domestic suspension, Anthony continues: “For sure, it really does you good, especially when you’re talking about big games like these in the Champions League. That red card [against Spurs] was my first ever and it’s something that I will learn from. But it will at least allow me to work even harder in training to come back even better.

“I still haven’t scored yet this season,” Martial continues. “But I know that as and when I get off the mark with one, everything will be fine. So, it’s down to me to keep putting in a big effort in training and to then show everybody the real Anthony Martial.”

In his compelling interview for United Review, Martial also speaks positively about the arrival of Edinson Cavani and the quality our new no.7 will bring to the striker department this season. 

“He’s a really great player, he’s proved exactly that all the way through his career, and I hope that he’ll manage to help us out,” says Anthony. “It’s always a positive to have even more quality within the group and as there are always a lot of fixtures to play, when one player is rested, it will allow us to ensure that there is no drop-off in quality whatsoever. That’s especially important for the team.”

Order your copy of United Review for more from Martial on the season so far, our victory in Paris and facing RB Leipzig.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY?

United will train for the final time ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig and you can see coverage of that session from around midday.   

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and a member of the squad will then hold a joint press conference with journalists, which will be streamed live via our Official App, ManUtd.com and MUTV. As ever, we will report the latest team news from the manager and provide a full transcript of his media briefing. 

Leipzig will travel to Manchester and hold their own digital press conference with European journalists from 16:45 GMT, before training on the pitch at Old Trafford.

We are also marking the one-year anniversary of Scott McTominay scoring the club's 2,000 Premier League goal, which you can watch below...

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?

United joined Paul Pogba in condemning misleading 'fake news' stories around the midfielder, after reports claimed he would be quitting the France national team, following recent incidents in his home country.

We reported the early team news for the big Champions League game, detailed the essential match info and told the story of Leipzig's history as a club via a fascinating feature from United Review.

The club also announced a collaboration between FareShare and Manchester United Foundation will provide 5,000 meals for local school children this October.

The latest edition in our UTD Unscripted long-read series was also published, with former United Academy graduate Paul McShane telling a personal story about his band of brothers from the club.

Another compelling episode of UTD Podcast was released at 17:00 GMT, starring club legend and FA Cup hero Arthur Albiston – who tells some top tales about Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Sir Alex Ferguson and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.