“I have to…”: Man United warrior opens up on his rivalry with City’s Erling Haaland

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Up next for Manchester United is the all-important Manchester derby, with their noisy neighbours Manchester City set to come to Old Trafford.

A win on Sunday could kickstart their Premier League campaign, but fans are concerned about the Red Devils’ leaky defence.

United have conceded two goals in each of their three top flight matches so far, with questions rightly asked about Lisandro Martinez.

The Argentine’s form has been patchy to say the least, with the centre-back committing errors against AC Milan and Ipswich Town.

Lisandro Martinez on Haaland rivalry

Ahead of his meeting with Erling Haaland, the World Cup winner downplayed his record against the Norwegian.

So far, City have emerged triumphant on six occasions since the former Ajax ace came to the club, with Haaland netting eight times while also registering three assists.

“That is the past. It’s gone and now we have to – I have to – be ready for this game because it’s going to be so different from the last one.

“For sure when you win, your confidence is going up. But now we have to be calm, we have to be humble. And then we have to think about the derby that is really important for us,” the 28-year-old was quoted as saying by The Sun.

On lack of clean sheets this season

The Argentina international will gain confidence from the fact that many pundits had written him and the club off last time as well.

The 20-time English league champions not only emerged triumphant, but they blew City away and the scoreline could have been a lot worse for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Lisandro Martinez also spoke of his disappointment with not keeping a clean sheet against Everton

“Against Everton, we played to take the clean sheet and then we conceded the goals and that’s what annoys us.

“It’s really bad, for sure, because we want to be there and if we want to compete, we have to keep the clean sheet because it’s very important.”

Lack of rest before Manchester derby

United will be playing only two days after their win against Sabah FK in the Champions League, while Enzo Maresca’s side will have a full extra days rest.

The left-footed defender refused to be drawn into this controversy, instead claiming that it was a blessing for the team to be back in the Champions League after a long hiatus.

“This is what we want, playing every three days, playing in all the competitions.

“This is what we have wanted for a long time and now we are ready. We have to recover now and this is the standard that we want as a team.”

Hopefully, the United No.6 and the rest of teammates can send a bold message to the rest of the league with a win under lights at the Theatre of Dreams.