'Come to my house!' - Lisandro Martinez challenges Paul Scholes & Nicky Butt to showdown talks after Man Utd legends made fun of defender's height prior to derby win

The World Cup-winning South American is giving two ex-England internationals the opportunity to address him in person after making them eat plenty of humble pie with his latest performance at Old Trafford.

Martinez helped to keep Haaland and Co quiet as United, under interim head coach Michael Carrick, put in their most complete performance of the season and collected an impressive 2-0 win - with three goals being chalked off for offside that would have made the final outcome even more decisive.

Ahead of that game, Scholes and Butt featured on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. The latter suggested that prolific Norwegian striker Haaland would “pick Martinez up and run with him” due his size, while Scholes added that City’s powerful No.9 would “throw” the 5ft 9in South American “in the net” after enhancing his remarkable goal record in 2025-26.

Neither prediction proved to be correct, with Martinez having never been the type to back down from a physical challenge. He is not overly concerned with what the likes of Scholes and Butt have to say, despite their respective standings at Old Trafford, with the 28-year-old centre-half preferring to do his talking on the pitch.

Martinez told reporters when reacting to a few pre-match comments that served as added motivation - with Scholes being addressed first: “Honestly, he 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.

“And 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.

“So for me, I don't really care what they say. I just put the focus on my performance, the performance of the team and I give everything to this club until my last day.”

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After Martinez's quotes hit the internet, Scholes was quick to respond to the Argentine. Taking to Instagram, Scholes said: “Someone's had a good game, was really happy for you... Tea, no sugar pls (please).“

United have endured a tough time this season, with Martinez having to wait until November 30 for his first appearance of the campaign after recovering from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) damage.

The Red Devils have parted company with Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim, as he struggled to deliver positive results on a consistent basis, and will be taking in their lowest number of games in a single season since 1914-15 - with early exits from FA Cup and Carabao Cup competition being endured.

They did, however, get things right against City and Martinez is confident that they can start to move in the right direction. He added on working to get supporters believing in the club again: “It is about the connection. It's about how we represent them on the pitch. If they see us fighting like [that], they will be with us.

“If sometimes our performance wasn't the best, because they expect a good attitude from us, tackles, the DNA, the blood of Manchester United. And I can really understand because sometimes it's like 'what are we doing here?'”

United’s victory over City has seen them close on the Premier League’s top four, with only one point keeping them outside of that pack. Champions League qualification for 2026-27 is considered to be imperative after missing out on European action entirely this term.

The Red Devils are very much in the hunt, as they plan to appoint a new permanent manager in the summer, but face another tough test in their next outing when heading to Emirates Stadium for a meeting with table-topping Arsenal. Martinez, who fills the Red Devils’ captain’s armband at times, will be looking to lead by example again there.