Adama Traore’s speed and cunning caused the Manchester United defence a lot of trouble on Sunday night. Even though the team lost 1-0 to the Red Devils at Craven Cottage, the Spanish winger resorted to social media to make fun of Lisandro Martinez.
With twelve minutes remaining, it was the latter who scored the game-winning goal. Attacking from the left centre-back position, Bernd Leno was fooled by his deflected shot as the German palmed it into his own net between the Fulham sticks.
With the exception of the moment when teenage midfielder Toby Collyer had to come up with a goal-line clearance, Marco Silva’s team came close to equalising the score in the closing minutes of the match.
In August, when things were looking well at Old Trafford, Manchester United and Fulham kicked off the 2024–25 season. The Red Devils, then led by previous manager Erik ten Hag, won all three points with a late goal from Joshua Zirkzee.
After a Zirkzee-inspired performance, Martinez and Traore criticised one another, with the former saying he had sent the strong wide player “to the gym.” In response, Traore said he and the Argentine would “meet again.”
The central defender, who is currently considered to be among the dirtiest players in the Premier League, not only lunged into a risky challenge on the hour mark of their second meeting this season, but 15 minutes later, Martinez, 27, shoved eight-cap Spain international Traore.
The small defender was forced to stagger back to regain his equilibrium when the former Barcelona academy hopeful retaliated by pushing him back twice as hard. Rodrigo Muniz of Fulham and Leny Yoro of Manchester United were available to separate them.
Reigniting the fireworks, Fulham’s speedster posted a picture of him and World Cup winner Martinez, who is curled up in a ball on the floor, on Instagram following the final whistle. The snap was accompanied by the caption: “Tough loss. We deserved more, but we will keep working hard and improving.”
Even though he was unable to score, Traore, who is known for leaving defenders in the dust, did it twice against Amorim’s erratic team. Martinez scored, kept a clean sheet, and added the Man of the Match award to his trophy cabinet, so it’s fair to say he got the last laugh.
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