Following a dominant Manchester derby victory, Paul Scholes lightheartedly accepted Lisandro Martinez’s challenge to confront him face-to-face by jokingly requesting tea with no sugar at the defender’s home.
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has delivered a witty response to Lisandro Martinez after the defender challenged him to a face-to-face confrontation following United’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City.
The friction began when Scholes and former teammate Nicky Butt questioned Martinez’s ability to handle Erling Haaland on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, with Butt suggesting Haaland would “pick Martinez up and run with him” like a “toddler.”
Martinez, who helped secure a clean sheet in Michael Carrick’s first match back as manager, hit back at the criticism during his post-match comments, stating,
“Honestly, he [Scholes] can say whatever he wants. I told him already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to wherever he wants… To my house, wherever. I don’t care.”
The Argentine defender emphasized that while pundits talk on television, “when you sit here face-to-face, no one says anything in your face,” adding that his true motivation remains his family rather than outside noise.
Scholes appeared to take the invitation in stride, posting a screenshot of the news to his Instagram story with the caption: “Someone’s had a good game, was really happy for you… Tea, no sugar pls @lisandromartinezzz.”
Despite the pre-match skepticism from club greats, Martinez remained focused on the team’s defensive standards and the revitalized atmosphere at Old Trafford, noting that “today is the standard for this club” after limiting City to just one shot on goal.