Martinez dismisses Haaland rivalry ahead of Manchester derby at Old Trafford

Lisandro Martinez has urged Manchester United to stay humble ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby, insisting his impressive record against Erling Haaland counts for nothing as the two sides prepare to meet at Old Trafford.

The Argentine centre-back, who scored in United’s 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah on Thursday, was quick to brush aside suggestions that his history against Haaland gives him an edge. “Yeah, but that is the past,” Martinez told reporters after the Sabah victory. “It’s the past, you know, it’s gone, and now I have to be ready for this game because it’s going to be so different from the last one.”

Haaland has failed to score in the five Manchester derbies Martinez has featured in since netting a hat-trick on the defender’s debut. Most recently, Martinez produced a commanding display as United won 2-0 at Old Trafford in January in Michael Carrick’s first game in charge, a result that silenced Paul Scholes’ suggestion that Haaland would overpower him.

Despite United’s difficult start to the Premier League season, Martinez believes Thursday’s result can provide a platform. “For sure when you win, your confidence is going up,” he said. “But now we have to be calm, we have to be humble and enjoy tonight, and then tomorrow we have to think about the derby — it’s really important for us.”

Martinez was relaxed about City having an extra 48 hours to prepare, saying United “can’t change it”, and welcomed the return to a congested schedule. “This is what we want — playing every three days, playing in all the competitions,” he said. “We have to recover now and this is the standard that we want as a team.”

On his goal against Sabah, the defender kept perspective. “I’m a defender, and if I score it’s good, if I don’t score it doesn’t matter. For me, it’s important to get the three points and play good football — that’s the most important thing.”