Lisandro Martinez: Manchester United defender responds to criticism from Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes

Critics debate Manchester United “You can talk on TV” but “nobody says anything” to your face, according to defender Lisandro Martinez.

Martinez, 28, helped United to an impressive 2-0 win over rivals Manchester City on Saturday, keeping striker Erling Haaland in check as the Red Devils kept their third Premier League clean sheet during a disappointing season.

After sacking Ruben Amorim and putting Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher in charge for two games, the result gave Michael Carrick a great start as United’s new interim coach.

Before the derby, Martinez was receiving criticism from former Red Devils midfielders Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.

Butt said on The Good, The Bad & The Football that Haaland would “pick Martinez and run with him” and treat the Argentine like a “little kid”, while Scholes suggested the Norwegian striker would “throw him into the net” after scoring.

Asked about Scholes’ comment, Martinez said: “Honestly, he can say whatever he wants. I’ve already told him, if he wants to say something to me, he can come anywhere he wants. To my house, wherever he is. I don’t care.”

“And I think for me I respect relationships when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on TV, but when you see [them] Here face to face, no one says anything to your face.

He added, “For me, I don’t really care about what they say. I just focus on my performance and the team’s performance and I give everything for this club until my last day.”