United's patchwork defence backs up Martínez's complaint, even in a draw that showed fight
A makeshift back four stood up to Leeds at Elland Road days after Lisandro Martínez criticised United's recruitment — and the selection itself proved his point.
Manchester United drew at Leeds on Sunday with a back four in which three of the four players were operating out of position, the clearest possible illustration of the point Lisandro Martínez had been making all week.
It capped a draining run of fixtures. United had limped to a damaging draw against 10-man Tottenham the previous weekend, then lost 2-0 at Atlético Madrid in midweek. The performance in Madrid was not as bad as the scoreline suggested, but what followed it caused far more damage than the result itself.
Martínez used multiple television interviews, most notably an exchange on Prime Video, to criticise the club's decision makers. He singled out technical director Jason Wilcox directly, saying: "I expect more [investment], 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Wilcox]. I have to be honest, as players we have to do more, but it is also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night."
The substance of his comments chimed with a fanbase already frustrated with the club's hierarchy. The criticism levelled at him was more about timing, given his outburst landed during his worst personal run of form since joining United in 2022. Ruben Amorim's assistant Carrick spent much of his pre-Leeds media duties fielding questions about the fallout rather than the opponent, and Martínez issued a public apology that officially closed the episode. He started at Elland Road regardless — Carrick had little alternative.
The selection answered the argument before it was even made
Most observers read Martínez's complaint as being specifically about a lack of investment in central defence, and the evidence from the previous two matches supported that reading. At Atlético, centre-back Ayden Heaven was forced to make his Champions League debut at left-back, a position he had never started in his career, because both Luke Shaw and his deputy Patrick Dorgu — himself not a natural left-back — were injured.
Sunday brought more of the same. Centre-back Leny Yoro started at right-back, regular right-back Diogo Dalot started at left-back, and Martínez himself was withdrawn at half-time through injury. United finished the match with a back four, from right to left, of Yoro, Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui and Dalot. Only Maguire was playing in his natural position.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of Martínez's timing, a defence built from converted centre-backs and a right-back playing left-back is not the evidence a club wants to produce in its own defence against charges of under-investment.
United's makeshift unit still found a way to compete
Despite the improvisation, United's defence earned credit for the resistance it showed against a good, in-form Leeds side. Martínez, under heightened scrutiny after Dominic Solanke had troubled him against Tottenham the previous weekend, was again targeted early on, this time by Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He responded with timely tackles and won several physical duels before his withdrawal at the break, which came as a blow to United's shape for the remainder of the game.
Yoro was again effective despite operating out of position, tucking inside repeatedly as Leeds fired crosses in from their right flank and clearing almost all of them. His eight clearances in the match were the second-highest total of his United career in a league game, behind only the nine he managed against Leeds in April. He also helped subdue Noah Okafor, who had scored twice against United at Old Trafford last season.
Dalot, often a target for fan frustration, also did well on an unfamiliar side. Clearly less comfortable attacking on his left foot, he nonetheless showed willingness to get forward, producing one of United's few genuine second-half moments with a solo run through midfield following a corner.
What the performance does and does not settle
None of this resolves the underlying dispute. A patched-together defence performing with application against Leeds does not retrospectively justify the squad's construction, nor does it undercut Martínez's central argument about investment. If anything, the fact that United needed converted centre-backs and an out-of-position right-back to get a result only reinforces why his comments found an audience among supporters, even as the club moves on in public with the apology accepted and the matter officially closed.