With just four minutes to go in the game and Liverpool scoring, it was all set for the Reds to get a point, an unlikely one at Manchester United, especially after a wonder strike from Christian Benteke but a 19-year-old stole the show with a goal that was eerily reminiscent of a Thierry Henry strike against Liverpool quite a few seasons ago.
Anthony Martial came off the bench and scored a clinical goal, which even Henry said it reminded him of his years at Arsenal. Martial made a mockery of the so-called Liverpool defence and in those 20 odd seconds, he lived up to not only his price-tag, but also as the next ‘Thierry Henry’.
We should not get carried away though, Martial is only 19 at the moment and he might have scored a great goal, but he has a long way to go. We have seen over the years many talented players get carried away by the hype and hoopla surrounding big money moves. As read in many forums, for every Ronaldo that a club unearths, the possibility of getting a Kleberson or a Bebe exists as well.
Manchester United probably paid a little over the odds to bring the former Monaco striker into the club. Martial didn’t set Ligue 1 on fire with his goal scoring record but if we are to compare him to Henry, the former Arsenal striker had a torrid time at Juventus before Arsene Wenger provided an escape route for him to London.
Martial only played 52 top-flight games in Ligue 1 and as rightly said he needs time to settle in the league. The Premier League is a tough place to set a career, we have seen quite a few big names flop and the best thing for Martial would be to lay low and try to first acclimatize to the league. He does have a manager in Louis van Gaal who can get the best out of a player, or at least make them effective enough.
Calling him the next Henry doesn’t make his life an easier, he would probably want to be the first and only Martial rather than a Henry. Everyone does say that Martial has a lot of potential and talent and it will be up to the youngster and the manager to see how well his development goes at Manchester United. At least he is at a club which will give him chances, especially this season when there really aren’t many striking options at Manchester United, just how well he does is up to him and if we do take his cameo against Liverpool as a measuring stick, Martial could well be something big at United.