Martinez moved by the fans' affection

Martinez, known as Licha to team-mates and fans, was moved after hearing United fans singing for him, following the full-time whistle, on the back of another solid display at the heart of the defence. 

Our centre-back headed towards the tunnel and was welcomed by chants of 'Argentina, Argentina' - his homeland. 

"To be honest, it's very emotional for me [hearing the fans sing for him]," he told club media in a post-match interview. 

"I'm at one of the best clubs in the world," he enthused. 

"This stadium, the atmosphere is amazing. When I heard the fans singing, I wanted to cry." 

He added: "This result is for my grandmother and my grandfather, who are not with me now, but I always feel that love with me."

Martinez, such a big hit since switching from Ajax in the summer, believes this was one of, if not the, best performance of United's season so far. 

"We [had] a top performance tonight and we controlled the game," he said. 

"I'm really happy because this team deserves it - we always try hard and we always want to play on this level." 

The Argentinian was also keen to highlight the busy performance of Fred, who got on the scoresheet for the Reds, grabbing the crucial opener moments into the second half. 

"He deserves it [the goal]," Martinez said, echoing the thoughts of manager Erik ten Hag. 

"He trained very hard, and he deserves it." 

After shutting out the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, who were leading the line for our visitors, United recorded a third successive clean sheet for the first time in over a year. 

"I think we were very solid in defence tonight," said Martinez, praising his team-mates. 

"They [Kane and Son] have a lot of quality, very strong, and a lot technical [ability] as well.

"I think we controlled the game tonight, it's great also to get a clean sheet."