André Onana was not afraid to make himself known among his new teammates during their pre-season match against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas Credit: Getty Images /Matthew Ashton
Lisandro Martinez told new Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onan to keep joking with his defenders.
Harry Maguire knocked out Onan in the second half United 3-2 friendly loss to Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas on Monday.
Onana crashed into Maguire after an England defender mistakenly left the ball during a tangle with Scott McTominay that forced the Cameroonian goalkeeper to make a jump save to clear a shot from Sebastian Haller.
Onana has only spent two weeks at United after signing for Inter Milan for £47m but replacing David de Gea in goal has already shown he is not afraid to give orders to teammates and admonish them when it is necessary.
Onana makes fun of teammates during a friendly loss to Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas. Photo: Getty Images/Patrick T. Fallon Maguire got a lot of trouble from Onana in Las Vegas. Photo: Getty Images/Matthew Ashton.
Martinez played with Onana at Ajax and says United signed a big character as he urged the goalkeeper to continue to speak his mind.
«It's better for him,» said the Argentine centre-back. “If you are focused, you can also fight your teammates. You have to make sure everyone is really smart, but nothing happened. It's part of football.
«He has a big personality, he can play football, he can handle pressure, he's very positive, he's a leader. That's the Manchester United style.»
Eric ten Hag stripped Maguire of the captaincy this summer and was replaced by Bruno Fernandes, while Martinez, the club's most-selected centre-back with Rafael Varane, said it was important to respect the manager's decision.
“It's the manager's decision and we have to respect it. He's the boss,» Martinez said. “If he decides, we as players must continue. Bruno is a good leader and a good person. He's very positive in the dressing room and I think he deserves it.»
Martinez missed the last 12 matches of last season with a broken metatarsus in the Europa League home game against Sevilla (2-2 ).< /p>
But he has shown no signs of holding back since returning to action in pre-season and has been booked for crushing ordeals against Buyako Saki and Jude Bellingham during games against Arsenal and Real Madrid in the US.
“When I play football, I give everything,” he said. «I play like this — with passion — because when I look at the badge, I represent this club, and it's amazing.
“All I can give is my body, my heart and everything else. I represent this club with all my might and I hope all the players do too. I feel stronger than last season and I think the team wants to show something different when the league starts, so we are full of positivity and feel really strong.»
Lisandro Martinez is back in full form after an injury ruined the end of last season for him. Some United fans wondered if the team would have had a better record last season, if Martinez hadn't succumbed to injury when United lost the FA Cup final to Manchester City and were knocked out of the Europa League in ignominious fashion.
Martínez is too humble to say it but says United need to become more mindful of the net, stop the sudden flops they've experienced and improve on their disappointing away record next season.
» Of course, it's really hard when you're not there, when you can't help the team, but that's what it is, and everything happens for a reason,» he said.
«Now we need to learn, we many things need to be improved. It's part of the process and I think this club will do better.
“I think we need to score more goals and also play away games – we need to win more away games. I think we need to read games better. We need to read the situation well, we need to be ready and we need to be strong in the mind, because football is a mentality.
“When you lose, sometimes – in one second – you can concede a lot of goals in the premier -league. You can't sleep, but this season we want to show something different.»
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