A potted history of Adama Traore and Lisandro Martinez’s beef
Following Manchester United’s clash with Fulham on the opening day of the 2024-25 season, Lisandro Martinez and Adama Traore couldn’t resist firing a dig at one another.
Given Martinez’s relatively small stature, much was made of his battle with Traore prior to kick-off. Especially since the bulky Fulham winger has a reputation for leaving defenders in the dust.
Despite Fulham and Traore giving a decent account of themselves at Old Trafford, United managed to claim all three points thanks to a late Joshua Zirkzee winner.
In fairness to Traore, he did manage to complete four of the nine dribbles that he attempted against United and he also got into a couple of decent scoring positions too.
However, thanks to Zirkzee’s late winner, United fans had reason to be cheerful heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
Martinez was clearly in a buoyant mood after the game as he couldn’t help but fire a dig at Traore during his post-match interview.
“First of all I always believe in myself and my strength. I know that I am not tall; really, really tall but I will win, I will go with personality for every ball and every duel,” the Argentine defender told Sky Sports when discussing his battle with Traore.
“I sent him [Traore] to the gym, no?
“No, he’s really difficult to play against, this opponent. I learnt from the first one. Because in the first situation he kill me and then I kill him back.”
After Traore had caused United’s backline several problems early on, they eventually contained his threat until he was substituted in the 78th minute.
Following on from the comments Martinez had made, Traore couldn’t help but have a nibble back on social media.
“Don’t worry we will meet again @lisandromartinezzz,” is what the Fulham winger posted on Instagram followed by a wink emoji.
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With United set to face Fulham again on Sunday, we can’t help but look forward to Martinez coming up against the Spanish winger once again.
Up until this point, Traore has enjoyed a productive season for Fulham as he’s currently averaging a goal or assist every 201.6 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, he’s also been one of the most prolific dribblers in the Premier League, averaging 2.6 successful dribbles per 90.
In the case of Martinez, he’s been dribbled past on 13 occasions in the league this season, with two of those coming against Fulham during the season opener.
If the Argentine star manages to get the better of Traore once again, we wouldn’t be surprised if he aims a cheeky jibe at the Spaniard after the game.
However, with Traore seemingly in the mood for some revenge, we’re sure that he’ll be fired up for his reunion with the 27-year-old defender.
Given that Fulham could pull 10 points ahead of United if they collect all three points, there’s a decent chance that the Spanish winger ends up having the last laugh.
Regardless of who comes out on top, we’re expecting it to be an intense battle between the pair.