Opinion: Martinez return gives Ten Hag's Reds hope

Rodrigo Bentancur's near-immediate equaliser following the resumption was received like the iciest of cold-water showers by those huddling on the terraces and, thereafter, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford never quite recaptured the shimmering menace they possessed in the opening 45.

But when the frustration subsides (Old Trafford match-goers are not accustomed to draws – the last occurred as far back as April 2023, against Sevilla), there was one clearly uplifting thing to cling onto from the second half.

Indeed, it drew perhaps the loudest cheer of the day (beyond Hojlund and Rashford's expert goals): the return of Lisandro Martinez.

His cameo only lasted 32 minutes, but it's been months since the Red Army have seen the Argentinian World Cup winner on the field, and how bitterly he has been missed.

Veteran Academy product Jonny Evans (whom Martinez replaced) has contributed some sterling work in his absence, but I think many fans feel that Martinez brings something different to any other United defender. Maybe any other player. "A very particular set of skills," as actor Liam Neeson might say.

Erik ten Hag calls it 'grinta' – grit or determination, in translation – but that's just one portion of it. For me, the passing is the main thing.

In roughly half an hour on the pitch, Martinez didn't give the ball away, and in fleeting glimpses, we saw the kind of dissecting passes that the 25-year-old is capable of. Fizzed efforts that get the ball to the forwards early, when they are in space, that move United up the field quickly.

Given Luke Shaw has also been absent for much of 2023/24 (he's made only three more appearances than Licha), there's been a real lack of left-footers in the United team. To put it simply, building play down the left side has been more problematic – last season, the pair made a combined 92 appearances.

Is it too much of a leap to argue that their injury troubles have somewhat impacted Marcus Rashford higher up on that same side of the field? Personally, I don't think so.

When you ally Martinez's vision and authority on the ball with the aggressive stuff, it's a beautiful combination, especially at a club like United, where there's a long tradition of hard-nosed ball-players – Roy Keane, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince and Duncan Edwards among them. That's the reason fans were belting out 'Argentina! Argentina! Argentina!' yesterday – it's not because we're all tango enthusiasts, believe it or not.

We saw a bit of everything against Spurs: the confidence, in a nutmeg on Brennan Johnson; the aggro, when shoving Richarlison to the ground (another shot in the arm for diplomatic ties between Brazil and Argentina); and, again, those forensic, scalpel-like passes.

It's true that United have missed him (and Shaw) badly. Casemiro, too. And the major hope among Reds everywhere is that once that trio return to the first XI on a regular basis, then United's form will improve.

But let's not get giddy: all three started United's first two matches of this Premier League season and the performances against Wolves and Tottenham were underwhelming.

So anyone cueing up Andy Tate's delirious "second half of this season, we're doing a title charge" meme, or using nausey phrases like "let us cook", should be advised to hold their horses.

But with Martinez and co now ready for duty, it's surely arguable that United have at least a better chance of relocating form, fluency and fight.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.