Pep Guardiola ‘targeted Martinez in the Manchester derby demolition – but NOT because of his height’
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Pep Guardiola ‘founded Lisandro Martinez during the demolition of the Manchester derby – but NOT because of his 5ft 9in height – with the City boss using Erling Haaland to keep the United defender busy and leave room for fellow hat-trick hero Phil Foden ‘
- Manchester City beat Manchester United 6-3 in Manchester derby
- City walked away in the first half and went into halftime with a four-goal lead
- Phil Foden opened the scoring early and added another before halftime
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Pep Guardiola reportedly made targeting Lisandro Martinez a big part of his game plan for the Manchester derby over the weekend, but not for the reason most fans would expect.
City dominated their rivals at the Etihad, taking a 4-0 at half time before going on to win 6-3.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both racked up hat-tricks and were both part of the plan to exploit Martinez.
Pep Guardiola reportedly made targeting Lisandro Martinez a big part of his game plan
Going into the match Martinez’s height has been a concern for United fans with the Argentinian up against the towering Haaland.
However, sources told ESPN that this was not something Guardiola was particularly focused on.
Instead, the City boss hoped Martinez would be so busy flagging Haaland that he would leave gaps for Foden to take advantage of the left side of United’s back four.
Guardiola hoped Martinez would be busy with Erling Haaland and leave room
And that’s exactly what happened when Foden and De Bruyne were able to take advantage of the gaps Martinez had left to move to Haaland.
Foden opened the scoring when he was found in space at the nearest post after just eight minutes.
He would later get his third when United’s defenders were drawn to Haaland, allowing the striker to play him clean on target.
Phil Foden broke the deadlock in the early stages and scored two more goals
