Anthony Martial criticised for walking during Manchester United defeat: ‘Every now and again you have to move’

Striker scored United’s only goal in their 2-1 defeat by Istanbul Basaksehir but was targeted by Paul Scholes for not putting in enough effort

Anthony Martial has been criticised by Paul Scholes for not putting in enough effort in Manchester United’s defeat (AP)

Anthony Martial has come under fire from Manchester United great Paul Scholes for walking during their shock 2-1 Champions League defeat against Istanbul Basaksehir, with a demand for more effort and energy from the World Cup winner.

The France international pulled United back into the contest with his 43rd-minute header, with the Premier League side already two goals down by that point, but his overall performance did not impress Scholes.

After wins over Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, United went into their third Champions League group-stage fixture as strong favourites, but came unstuck against a side who were appearing in the competition for the first time in their history.

And Scholes took aim at Martial for not putting a shift in, with the former United midfielder claiming he regularly saw Martial walking instead of offering movement to try and open up the Basaksehir defence.

“I’m a big fan of Anthony Martial but the amount of times I looked up and he was walking, he has to realise as a centre forward every now and again you have to move if you’re going to score a goal,” Scholes said on BT Sport.

“You can’t just be walking in front of two centre-backs doing nothing.”

Scholes believes that it is up to one of United's more experienced players, such as Nemanja Matic, to give Martial clear instructions of what the midfield want him to do in order to give them more options in attack.

“When a midfield player has got time on the ball - I look up he’s walking, Rashford is coming to the ball - it’s not his strength,” Scholes added.

“Sometimes experienced players like a Matic have to tell them. They almost need coaching through a game.”

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come under intense criticism for the defeat, which follows a goalless draw with Chelsea and 1-0 defeat by Arsenal in the Premier League.

Scholes did not target Solskjaer - though the manager is under increasing pressure to deliver this season after becoming the bookmakers’ favourite in the managerial sack race - but he did hit out the team’s shambolic defending, which was highlighted in the ease with which Demba Ba scored Basaksehir’s second goal.

Scholes did not directly criticise Solskjaer (Getty)

“Surely you always have someone back on the halfway line, they’re pointing at Matic. You’re always goal-side, it’s like Under 10s football," Scholes said. "You can understand if it’s last minute but it’s the first 10 minutes, it’s embarrassing.

"They’ve struggled with them attacking wise, they’ve gone with one holding player today. Defensively they’re all over the place.

“The defenders have to be better, forward play could be better as well. Defensively they’ve got to take responsibility, you have to defend one-on-one sometimes when you’re at Manchester United (but) they seem incapable of doing it.”

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