Former Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov urges Anthony Martial ‘to bully defenders and get dirty’ like Edinson Cavani to improve his game and regain top form
- Anthony Martial has only scored twice in all competitions so far this campaign
- However Martial’s team-mate Edinson Cavani, 33, has hit the ground running
- Dimitar Berbatov believes Martial should emulate Uruguayan striker Cavani
- He also declared the Frenchman needs to work on being nasty to play against
Anthony Martial needs to use Manchester United team-mate Edinson Cavani as a role model to become a better player, according to Dimitar Berbatov.
After scoring 23 goals in 48 matches last season – his best ever tally at the club – the French striker has been off the boil this campaign, only scoring twice in all competitions.
Martial, now 24, missed a sitter in a 3-1 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday which leaves their Champions League progression uncertain.
Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has been in poor goalscoring form this campaign
Martial missed a sitter in Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain
And former Red Devils striker Berbatov believes the out-of-form Martial should take a leaf out of Cavani’s book to improve his overall game.
He told Betfair: ‘He needs to up his game, not only him but the whole team too. In the really important games he need to shine even more. I’ve been surprised with how well Edinson Cavani has performed, the guy is 33 years old and he’s running around the pitch like he’s a 25-year-old.
‘Fighting for the ball, making spaces, the passion he had is still there and that is something that Martial needs to look at and improve on. He needs to bully defenders and get dirty from time to time.
October signing Edinson Cavani has already scored more goals than Martial so far this season
‘He has the other attributes like technique, speed and stamina and other things like that, but in some games, like the one against PSG, you need to be a bit nasty and when you have an opportunity to score, you need to score.
‘Hopefully, win or lose, he looks for advice from Ole, and with Cavani there he can see how he is moving around and they’ve both been in the French league so they will know each other.’
Both the 25-cap France international and Marcus Rashford have been tried up front as well as out wide, but neither has nailed the No 9 slot yet.
And ex-Red Devils forward Dimitar Berbatov believes Martial needs to emulate Cavani
Uruguayan Cavani only scored four league goals last year for PSG and was phased out of the Parisian side.
However, he showed his suitability for a central striking role for United with two goals and an assist off the bench to complete a 3-2 comeback against Southampton on Sunday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men travel to fifth-placed West Ham on Saturday knowing a victory will see them leapfrog the Hammers.
