LVG praises in-form Martial

Manchester United F.C. boss Louis Van Gaal praised forward Anthony Martial for his two-goal performance against Southampton at St Mary’s on Sunday.

Martial, 19, has now scored three goals in two English Premier League appearances since arriving from French Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco on deadline day.

The France international, the most expensive teenager in world football history, is quickly becoming a fan favourite at Old Trafford, and rightly so.

“I have to say he is doing great,” Van Gaal said.

“He has the talent for it.

“When you are 19 years old, you cannot expect any consistency. Mostly, they shall have a lot of dips. That’s not a big problem.

“He has talent at a high level and has adapted to the system. He shows that he wants to do that. As a striker, the most important thing is to score goals.

“He can improve, I think. He has a high level of talent and he shows it under great pressure, and that may be his greatest talent.”

EPL Betting Odds | Saturday, 26 September 2015 | Manchester United (1/4) v. Sunderland (17/1); Draw (6/1)

Rodgers disappointed after draw

Liverpool F.C. manager Brendan Rodgers was frustrated after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Norwich City on Sunday. However, Rodgers did take some positives away from the match.

The Reds entered Sunday’s contest having suffered consecutive league defeats, including a 3-0 home defeat to West Ham United. And after a goal-less first 45 minutes, substitute Danny Ings gave the hosts the lead just after the re-start.

But Ings’ first goal at Anfield was for not, as Norwich captain Russell Martin scored his third goal of the season just after the hour mark to earn a precious point for the newly-promoted Canaries.

“[I am] disappointed, frustrated with the result. I thought, particularly in the second half, there were more signs of fluency and creativity,” Rodgers said.

“[In the] first half we were a bit static. We’d have the ball in decent positions but the movement in front of it wasn’t as we would like. Second half we freed ourselves up a bit more. Danny Ings was outstanding when he came on. His pressing and his ability was there to see and it was important that we got the first goal.

“It was an excellent goal but then we lost concentration on a set-piece which was not so good on our part. I think we created enough chances to win the game, so that disappoints. But the most disappointing factor was the goal. It was the first corner in the game and our organization was clear – six men in the box who knew their roles – but we lost concentration and Russell Martin hooks it in. It’s a goal that shouldn’t happen.

“But apart from that there was a lot more positives today and, of course, we want to win every game here, no matter who the opponent is.”

After Sunday’s draw, Rodgers is priced at 6/4 to be the next Premier League manager to leave his post.