Anthony Martial was tracking Kyle Walker for much of the game (Picture: Getty)

Manchester City legend Pablo Zabaleta admits he feels bad for Anthony Martial constantly having to track back under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

Pep Guardiola’s champions extended their lead over eighth-placed United to 12 points as goals from David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan sealed a 3-1 win for the home side at the Etihad.

Anthony Martial briefly looked to have pulled United back into the game with a 58th-minute penalty but Gundogan’s late strike was the killer blow for Mourinho’s men.

United’s standout player in recent weeks has been Martial and, while the Frenchman managed to find the net at City, he was unable to replicate his unplayable recent form.




Speaking after City’s victory, former City defender Zabaleta claimed that he felt sympathy for Martial who has not been given the freedom to play his natural game.

‘I think this is Mourinho’s philosophy. We’ve seen this at Inter Milan and Real Madrid,’ Zabaleta told Sky Sports.

‘When a manager has to convince players to play in the way the manager wants to play, its simple. Some players will enjoy it more and others will enjoy less.

Anthony Martial has scored in his last five appearances for United (Picture: Getty)

‘When you look at Martial, when you look at [Marcus] Rashford, they’re just always tracking full-backs rather than just attacking and they just couldn’t in one-on-one situations.

‘And i think if I’m in their position it must be hard not to be an attacking team and play in the final third and always tracking back full-backs.

Pablo Zabaleta ‘feels bad’ for Anthony Martial (Picture: Getty)

Zabaleta lifted the lid on a conversation he had with Martial during West Ham’s 3-1 defeat of United earlier this season and admits he ‘feels bad’ for the forward.

‘Of course when you play City, who dominate possession, you’ll suffer but when you play against other teams with less quality then maybe its different,’ he said.

‘We’re West Ham and we played Man United a few weeks ago and we felt this.

‘I was making overlapping runs and Martial was just tracking me back at some point he went “How old are you?” – I felt like I can play another ten years!

‘He made me feel young but I felt bad for him because he was just tracking me back all the time. ‘

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