Manchester United were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by West Ham after their rotated attack of Jadon Sancho, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial failed to make an impression
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Manchester United 0-1 West Ham: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer post match
Misfiring Manchester United attackers Jadon Sancho, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial have been slammed by Old Trafford hero Paul Ince after the defeat by West Ham.
The trio formed the frontline as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made wholesale changes to his side for the Carabao Cup clash with the Irons on Wednesday night.
But they failed to trouble the visiting defence and the Red Devils were beaten 1-0 to exit the competition at the third round.
Ince accused Sancho, Lingard and Martial of playing style-over-substance football and prioritising dribbling over passing as he declared he was left “wound up” by the result.
“I get that Sancho is still learning, he’s still young. But this is not a FIFA game, it’s not all about dribbling and dribbling and trying to beat two, three, four players or little flicks and that,” the former England midfielder told The United Stand .
“Yeah, it’s nice when they come off but the likes of Sancho and Lingard, all these flicks, just play proper football.
“Honestly, it winds me up!
“If you watch players like [Ryan] Giggs, they get it and they pass, one-twos and get one-on-one… we just want to keep running with the ball, trying little flicks, little back-heels.
“That’s what I saw with Martial, I saw it at times with Lingard and with Sancho and that’s where they need to learn that it’s not all about dribbling.
“Sometimes you can pass your way through players and get yourself in the box.”
Do you agree with Paul Ince’s criticism of Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho? Have your say in the comments.
Ince was particularly frustrated by Martial’s body language during the cup tie and questioned whether the goal-shy striker wanted any part in the fixture.
“This wasn’t a top-notch West Ham side,” added Ince, who came graduated from the Hammers academy and made 95 appearances for the east London club.
“Some of the players you’ve probably not even heard of! It was a time for them to say to the manager, ‘I’m still here!’
“How many people are ahead of Martial now? Was he going to go in the transfer window? Ole said no and he’s still part of his plans.
“I just looked at Martial’s body language and I was thinking, ‘Does he actually want to be out there on a Wednesday night?’
“And some players do that. When they’re not involved in the first-team on a Saturday, they think: ‘Why am I playing in the Carabao Cup?!’
“You sense that body language with Martial. He didn’t want to be out there.”
