Manchester United are a team that struggles for goals - but defender Lisandro Martinez has now scored two crucial ones this month, the first at Anfield in a draw with Liverpool, the second the solitary goal of Sunday’s win at Fulham.
“An amazing goal, great finish,” the Argentine joked to The National after the much-needed win and clean sheet. “No, no, no, it was lucky, but three points and that’s it, very important.”
United need victories, confidence and goals, no matter where they come from. Does Martinez, whose own form has been as indifferent as many of his colleagues this season, see himself as an attacking threat?
“You just have to read the situation and do the right timing,” he said. “When you are with confidence the goal goes in. I went with 100 per cent of my confidence and the ball goes in, that’s it.”
The shot, United’s first on target in the whole match, came after 78 minutes. Even then it needed a big deflection before it looped over Fulham’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno in front of the 2,800 travelling United fans among a sell-out crowd.
The exuberant celebrations showed how much it meant to a team that started the day in 14th and moved up to 12th. These are positions unheard of in the modern-day history of Manchester United, but the current team have issues all over the pitch.
Wolves, in 18th, have scored more than United’s 28 goals from 23 league matches so far. Leaders Liverpool have scored 54. United’s top scorers are not troubling the goalscoring charts, with wide man Amad Diallo leading on six.
Rasmus Hojlund, who starts most often as the centre forward, only has two league goals and Sunday saw him struggle at Craven Cottage. Brazilian winger Antony has been offloaded to Real Betis, while forward Marcus Rashford continues to be ostracised from selection by his coach.
Asked if other players needed to take the burden of goalscoring off of Hojlund and fellow forward Joshua Zirkzee, Martinez replied: “We take the responsibility, and I think we played many long balls to them and for them it’s really tough. They fight against two centre-backs and the centre-backs here in the Premier League are difficult to win something [against].
“But they must do better as well. They are really good players but we have to contribute more and put them in better space or place on the pitch, we must find them in the right places and dangerous places to make them score.”
The win brings some light relief and a chance to celebrate Ruben Amorim’s 40th birthday on Monday.
“We’re going to do the tunnel [at training] tomorrow [he runs through tunnel with players on either side slapping him, some harder than others],” said Martinez.
United’s next game is in Romania on Thursday in a Europa League clash against FCSB. It’s a chance of a third consecutive victory for the first time this season.
“Now we have to be humble, we have to keep this momentum for sure, yes,” said Martinez. “It’s an amazing feeling when you win, but we must be humble. We win today, we celebrate today, tomorrow we think of the next game.”
Asked about confidence in the dressing room, he said: “We’re OK, I’m not going to talk about confidence and that kind of thing, I don’t want to make something wrong, but we’re happy and for sure when you win the confidence goes up for sure.
"It’s good for us to get the three points. It was really important [to get a Premier League win] because we didn’t get the best result in the Premier League and this had to be every week for us, we have to win every game."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESupy%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDani%20El-Zein%2C%20Yazeed%20bin%20Busayyis%2C%20Ibrahim%20Bou%20Ncoula%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFood%20and%20beverage%2C%20tech%2C%20hospitality%20software%2C%20Saas%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%20for%20six%20months%3B%20pre-seed%20round%20of%20%241.5%20million%3B%20seed%20round%20of%20%248%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeco%20Capital%2C%20Cotu%20Ventures%2C%20Valia%20Ventures%20and%20Global%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
%E2%80%98White%20Elephant%E2%80%99
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jesse%20V%20Johnson%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Michael%20Rooker%2C%20Bruce%20Willis%2C%20John%20Malkovich%2C%20Olga%20Kurylenko%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
