Always looked to prove Jose Mourinho wrong about my abilities, admits Anthony Martial

Always looked to prove Jose Mourinho wrong about my abilities, admits Anthony Martial

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Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has revealed that he wanted to prove former boss Jose Mourinho wrong every time he stepped onto the field. The Portuguese boss wasn’t the French striker’s biggest fan during his time there and often benched Martial for Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Romelu Lukaku.

Things have changed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with only injuries preventing Martial from making more appearances but the Frenchman has struggled to impose himself. But the 24-year-old still has managed to net 12 goals in 28 games and is on par to break his career total of 18 goals in a single league season and has already surpassed his best under Mourinho.

Martial struggled to get game-time under the former Manchester United boss and started just eighteen out of thirty-eight games in Mourinho’s second season but he still managed to make an impact. It included 9 goals in the league alone and the Frenchman went on to admit that every time he walked onto the field, he wanted to prove Mourinho wrong. 

"It is true that I prefer to be told to my face. There is no need for it to be said in front of everybody. Certainly, after that, you want to prove him wrong. He did not play me during the first matches of the season. Each time I came on, I scored, and he eventually said to me : 'you see, now you understand what I am after.' It can sting, but you just want to show him that you should be on the pitch," Martial told RMC Sport.

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