Martinez demands more from Manchester United hierarchy after Champions League defeat

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez criticised the club’s hierarchy after their 2-0 Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid, saying more investment was needed to compete at the highest level.

Argentina international Martinez specifically called on director of football Jason Wilcox to strengthen the squad.

“I expect more from our technical director. I have to be honest. And also, as players, we have to do more,” Martinez told Amazon Prime.

Pablo Barrios gave Atletico the lead after only 50 seconds at the Metropolitano, finishing after Alex Baena broke down the left and squared the ball.

United threatened through Bryan Mbeumo, who shot narrowly wide before forcing a close-range save from Jan Oblak, while Marcus Rashford also missed an opportunity. Atletico had a Johnny Cardoso goal disallowed for a Marcos Llorente handball, before Julian Alvarez struck the post early in the second half.

United defender Leny Yoro was sent off in the 74th minute for denying Jonathan David a goalscoring opportunity. Five minutes later, Ademola Lookman tapped into an empty net after David’s shot had been saved.

The defeat extended Michael Carrick’s side’s winless run to five matches in all competitions and left them on three points in the Champions League league phase. They began their campaign with a 4-0 victory over Sabah FK.

United are back in the Champions League after a two-season absence, having finished bottom of their group in their previous appearance in 2023-24.

“We had a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, from upstairs, to bring in more players to compete, because many teams have brought in many players as well,” Martinez said.

Elsewhere, Nicolo Tresoldi scored a hat-trick as Club Brugge stunned Inter Milan 4-3 at San Siro.

Tresoldi opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 30th minute after Hakan Calhanoglu fouled Carlos Forbs. Lautaro Martinez equalised before half-time after Marcus Thuram and Federico Dimarco combined on the left.

A defensive misunderstanding between Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez and his defence allowed Forbs to put the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs, leaving Tresoldi with an empty net. The forward completed his hat-trick in the 74th minute, although Martinez scored again seven minutes later.

Romeo Vermant restored Brugge’s two-goal advantage in the 87th minute before Ange-Yoan Bonny’s added-time goal offered Inter limited consolation.

Bayern Munich recovered from 2-0 down to lead Viking Stavanger, but Michael Olise was dismissed and Herman Johan Haugen equalised in added time for a 3-3 draw.

Gianni Stensness headed Viking ahead in the second minute and the hosts doubled their lead in the 38th. Harry Kane began Bayern’s comeback with a 54th-minute penalty after VAR reviewed Kristoffer Haugen’s foul on Konrad Laimer, then headed the equaliser six minutes later.

Kane has scored in nine successive Champions League matches, equalling the competition’s second-longest scoring run behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s 11. Luis Diaz put Bayern ahead in the 71st minute, but Olise was shown a second yellow card three minutes later.

Barcelona overcame an early deficit to beat Galatasaray 4-1 at RAMS Park. Alexey Batrakov put the hosts ahead in the 28th minute, while a Baris Yilmaz header was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Joao Cancelo equalised before half-time, with Lamine Yamal then setting up Fermin Lopez and Anthony Gordon in the 50th and 53rd minutes. Karim Adeyemi completed the win.

Arsenal scored three times in seven minutes to beat Lille 3-0. Jurrien Timber opened the scoring in the 64th minute from Noni Madueke’s pass, before Bukayo Saka set up Eberechi Eze and then scored the third from Kai Havertz’s delivery in the 71st minute.

Villarreal beat Napoli 3-1 through goals from Georges Mikautadze, Santiago Mourino and Tanitoluwa Oluwaseyi. Brajan Gruda gave RB Leipzig a 1-0 win over PSV Eindhoven after Maarten Vandevoordt saved Ivan Perisic’s early penalty with his boot.

Sabah Baku, featuring former Kaizer Chiefs player Aden McCarthy in central defence, beat Slavia Prague 2-0 through second-half goals from Kaheem Parris and Joy-Lance Mickels. Luis Suarez and Issa Doumbia scored in Sporting’s 2-0 victory at Lens.