Anthony Martial believes an improved tactical awareness is behind his strong form in front of goal for Manchester United.
The 22-year-old is Uniteds leading goalscorer this season with six goals in 10 Premier League appearances and he had scored in five games in a row before drawing a blank against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Martial has often been in and out of the United team during Jose Mourinhos spell in charge but with both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez struggling in front of goal, the Frenchman has emerged as the teams biggest goal threat.
When Martial joined United in a £58m deal from Monaco, he was regarded as an out-and-out striker, however, over the last few seasons he has predominantly lined up on the wing and he revealed that he has tried to develop the defensive side of his game too.
I think that [my improvement] is more on a tactical level. I try and take up good positions, so I can best help out my team, Martial said.
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I have been trying to work harder defensively too and to really try and help out the side when we arent in possession of the ball.
We work a lot on tactics and I try and do my best. I listen carefully to the advice of all the coaching staff we have here and I find that this helps me a lot.
Although he featured 30 times in the Premier League last season, 12 of those appearances came from the substitutes bench and there were rumours that a rift between him and Mourinho would lead to a departure from Old Trafford.
However, Martial finally appears to have cemented a first-team place with Mourinho preferring him to Sanchez and he claims that he has benefited from a regular run of games.
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If you dont feature regularly and you only take part in training sessions, you might still be in decent form, but its not the same as when you are playing in matches, Martial said.
I hope that I can continue to put together a good run of games and perform well in them.
United fell further behind their top-six rivals at the weekend following their draw with Crystal Palace as Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal all won.
Mourinho will therefore be hoping his side can return to winning ways against Southampton at St Marys on Saturday with Martial expected to feature from the start.
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More: Manchester United FC
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Anthony Martial believes an improved tactical awareness is behind his strong form in front of goal for Manchester United.
The 22-year-old is Uniteds leading goalscorer this season with six goals in 10 Premier League appearances and he had scored in five games in a row before drawing a blank against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Martial has often been in and out of the United team during Jose Mourinhos spell in charge but with both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez struggling in front of goal, the Frenchman has emerged as the teams biggest goal threat.
When Martial joined United in a £58m deal from Monaco, he was regarded as an out-and-out striker, however, over the last few seasons he has predominantly lined up on the wing and he revealed that he has tried to develop the defensive side of his game too.
I think that [my improvement] is more on a tactical level. I try and take up good positions, so I can best help out my team, Martial said.
Advertisement Advertisement
I have been trying to work harder defensively too and to really try and help out the side when we arent in possession of the ball.
We work a lot on tactics and I try and do my best. I listen carefully to the advice of all the coaching staff we have here and I find that this helps me a lot.
Although he featured 30 times in the Premier League last season, 12 of those appearances came from the substitutes bench and there were rumours that a rift between him and Mourinho would lead to a departure from Old Trafford.
However, Martial finally appears to have cemented a first-team place with Mourinho preferring him to Sanchez and he claims that he has benefited from a regular run of games.
More: Football
If you dont feature regularly and you only take part in training sessions, you might still be in decent form, but its not the same as when you are playing in matches, Martial said.
I hope that I can continue to put together a good run of games and perform well in them.
United fell further behind their top-six rivals at the weekend following their draw with Crystal Palace as Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal all won.
Mourinho will therefore be hoping his side can return to winning ways against Southampton at St Marys on Saturday with Martial expected to feature from the start.
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More: Manchester United FC
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