The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsThe season is only 6 games old and already pundits have declared Mourinho’s Chelsea reign over and Man City’s title push victorious.
But with Chelsea wins against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Arsenal last week, as Man City crumbled to Juventus and West Ham, those early predictions may have been thrown into doubt. What is undoubted so soon in the season, however, is that the following players are match-winners, already proving invaluable to their team’s cause.
3/ Anthony Martial of Man United.
Writing for BBC Sport, Garth Crooks compared Martial’s ruthless finishing to that of former Man Utd goal-poacher Ruud van Nistlerooy. Though a mighty tribute, I feel a better comparison of Martial’s technique can be drawn to the composed finishes of Thierry Henry. Martial’s debut goal vs. Liverpool, and second goal of the game vs. Southampton, mirrored the way Henry used to patrol the inside-left channel of Premiership pitches, before the inevitable disappearance of the football into the far corner of the goal.
For the second United goal on Sunday, Maya Yoshida’s backpass sprung Martial’s rattrap as the United striker sniffed out the Southampton defender’s intentions – much in the same way Henry has, over the years, haunted Steven Gerrard. With 3 goals in 2 games, Martial has already made an impact and perhaps he can continue to echo Henry in leading his team to the Premier League title.
