FOOTBALL NEWS
07/02/2018 10:00, Report by Adam Higgins
MARTIAL IS JANUARY'S PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Anthony Martial has been voted Manchester United's Player of the Month for January by supporters – the third time he has won the award already this season.
As always, fans voted in their thousands in the poll, conducted on our official Twitter account @ManUtd, and Martial picked up half of the final tally (50 per cent). Team-mates Jesse Lingard (35 per cent) and Luke Shaw (15 per cent) were also nominated.
In claiming the first star-man award of 2018, Martial has made it a hat-trick of Player of the Month prizes so far in 2017/18 after also receiving the fans' accolade in September and October. His decisive finish against Tottenham, which proved to be the winner at Old Trafford, was also voted October's Goal of the Month.
The other Player of the Month winners this season are Paul Pogba (August), Ashley Young (November) and Jesse Lingard (December).
WHY DID ANTHONY WIN IT?January was another impressive month for the Frenchman, who scored in three successive Premier League games for the Reds for the first time – all of which are also nominated for our latest Goal of the Month award, with the winner revealed tomorrow (Thursday).
He also chalked up two assists during the month, setting up goals for Romelu Lukaku to round off the scoring in the victories against Derby County in the Emirates FA Cup and Stoke City in the Premier League.
Martial started the month by scoring our first goal of 2018 with a sublime effort from the edge of the box in the Reds' 2-0 win at Everton on New Year's Day. He then followed it up with another fine finish in the 3-0 success against Stoke at Old Trafford.
The 22-year-old also struck the winner in the 1-0 victory at Burnley with a clinical strike and was subsequently named our Man of the Match, as voted for by fans on Twitter, after his eye-catching display at Turf Moor.
Only Lingard (12) and Lukaku (19) have netted on more occasions in all competitions this campaign than Martial, who has 11 goals and nine assists to his name. He has already eclipsed his total for the whole of last season of eight goals and will be looking to surpass his tally of 17 in his debut season in 2015/16 – during which he won the Player of the Month award twice.
The forward has been in imperious form this season, making an impact when starting games and appearing as a substitute, and could have a vital role to play in the remaining months of the season as the Reds strive for silverware.