Roy Keane Clashes With Paul Scholes Over Lisandro Martinez

Roy Keane has hit back at Paul Scholes after the former England international criticised defender Lisandro Martinez ahead of the Manchester derby. The Argentine put in an impressive display on Saturday as Manchester United defeated Manchester City 2-0 at Old Trafford. Pep Guardiola's side managed just one shot on target across the 90 minutes and were fortunate not to lose by a bigger margin, with United having three goals disallowed for offside. Ahead of the match, Martinez was mocked by Scholes and fellow United legend Nicky Butt during a podcast appearance. Butt said: "Haaland would pick Martinez up and run with him. "It’ll be like, you know, when you see a dad after school running down the road with a little toddler. That’s what it’d be like." Scholes then added: "He’d score, then throw him in the net!" After the victory in the Manchester derby, Martinez was specifically asked about the comments from Scholes. As per the Daily Mail, he said: "Honestly, he can say whatever he wants. "I told him already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to me wherever he wants. To my house, wherever. I don't care. "I think, for me, I respect the relations when they want to help the club because everyone can talk on the television. "But when you see [them] here face-to-face, no one says anything in your face." While Scholes has questioned whether Martinez is capable of playing in a title-winning side, Keane has been more positive about the Argentine defender. Back in 2023, after a 3-0 win at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest, Keane praised Martinez's 'pride' in defending. He also described the centre-back as someone 'you want to be in the trenches with'. Keane said: "He wants to defend and again, he looks a right character, a lad you want to be in the trenches with. "We saw it tonight, United were coasting towards the end, but he still wanted to defend. "And we talk about the importance of scoring three goals, but for the defender's point of view, they'll be delighted with a clean sheet." When fit, Martinez has been one of United's standout performers since his £57 million move from Ajax in 2022. However, he has missed significant spells through injury since making that transfer, including the opening months of this season as he recovered from a cruciate ligament problem. Since returning last month, Martinez has been an ever-present, often lining up alongside youngsters Ayden Heaven or Leny Yoro. With Harry Maguire now available again, Michael Carrick will hope United can start to build a settled centre-back partnership and improve on their tally of just three clean sheets.