Carrick starts Martinez against Leeds despite United board criticism row

Michael Carrick has named Lisandro Martinez in Manchester United’s starting lineup to face Leeds, days after the Argentine defender publicly criticised the club’s board following Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Martinez had taken aim at sporting director Jason Wilcox, saying he expected more from the club in the transfer window. He released a statement on Wednesday clarifying his remarks before holding talks with chief executive Omar Berrada, Wilcox, and Carrick on Thursday. Martinez apologised for the timing of his comments that day but stopped short of retracting the substance of what he said.

Carrick was asked to explain his decision to start Martinez — and whether it was partly driven by the threat posed by Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin — and kept his answer brief. “I said it whenever I did my press conference: what’s done is done, we’ve moved on. We’ve picked a team, we know their threats, we’ve got some as well so we’ll get the balance right,” the United head coach said.

On the match itself, Carrick added: “Today is a fantastic game. We’ve come here to play well and try and win the game. It’s a challenging place to come but it’s a great game to be involved in.”

Former United captain Gary Neville offered a measured verdict on how the situation had been handled. “I’m torn a little bit. There should be some consequence but United don’t have the depth and they can’t afford for a bus to be driven through their dressing room, and it could have got worse,” Neville said. “I think Carrick has handled it quite well.”