Man Utd star earns surprise praise from Steven Gerrard after Atleti defeat

Steven Gerrard has admitted he ‘admires’ Lisandro Martinez for his fiery post-match interview on Tuesday night.

The former Liverpool captain weighed in on the ongoing fiasco at Manchester United, which has yet to be resolved.

Lisandro Martinez: The state of play

Indeed, things are up in the air following Martinez’s honest admissions at the Metropolitano, during which he directly singled out Director of Football Jason Wilcox for his lack of investment in the summer window.

INEOS funded only three outfield additions in the form of Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba, and Youri Tielemans before calling it a day on the market.

It has left numerous areas of Michael Carrick’s squad depleted, with the full-back department particularly struggling now that Luke Shaw, Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui are all sidelined.

What Gerrard had to say about Martinez

Martinez is likely to face some sort of punishment in the coming days, and reports have even suggested the Argentine international has asked that the club do not activate his 12-month contract extension at the end of the season.

That means he would be leaving Old Trafford for good come June 2027, pulling the curtains on a four-year tenure in M16.

Speaking on Stick to Football this week, Gerrard told the panel: “That (Martinez’s outburst) tells me that the senior players are talking about it as a group.

“I’m just thinking it doesn’t help Michael [Carrick] on the eve of playing Leeds [United] at the weekend. It’s more negative. It tells me that they’re not aligned as a club.

“But at the same time, I agree a little bit where sometimes a player comes and does an interview, and it’s robotic, and he just straight-bats every question.

“So I admire the fact that he’s tried to be honest and open. He’s actually tried to protect Michael Carrick in a way, but he’s made a bigger mess.”