Erik ten Hag reveals Anthony Martial returned to Manchester United bench after storming down tunnel

Erik ten Hag revealed that Anthony Martial returned to the Manchester United bench after initially storming down the tunnel.

Martial was seen heading straight for the dressing rooms after being substituted during the 1-0 win at Bournemouth.

The Frenchman started the crunch match on the south coast, but again failed to get on the scoresheet.

Casemiro gave them the lead after nine minutes with an acrobatic finish, with the visitors heading into the break in control.

However, Ten Hag made the decision to replace Martial with Wout Weghorst an hour into the game.

The 27-year-old clearly disagreed with the decision as he cut a confused figure when making his way off the pitch.

Speaking on commentary for talkSPORT 2, Nigel Adderley explained what happened: “Martial is very slowly walking around the end of the pitch, here, and he doesn’t look massively pleased with that decision – look at his face!”

“We’ve mentioned before about Man United players playing within themselves, and I think he’s one of those sorts of players.”

“Well, to be fair, I don’t think he’s done anything in that first-half to warrant staying on the pitch,” said Perry Groves.

Adderley then revealed: “He’s gone straight down the tunnel,” before Groves added: “Yeah, Martial looked a little bit sharper going down the tunnel than he was when Man United were out of possession trying to win the ball back…”

He also did not acknowledge Ten Hag on the touchline, despite doing so with some staff and substitutes.

Speaking to talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook after the match on Martial, Ten Hag remarked: “I think he played well, he returned to the bench, he’s OK.

“I think he just shot into the dressing room, I don’t know what you want to make from it.”

The United boss has previously expressed his belief in Martial, despite the striker’s injury woes this season.

His contract at the club is set to expire next summer so he could therefore be on the move when the transfer window reopens.

Martial has scored 87 goals in 295 appearances since he signed in 2015, with eight of his strikes coming this season.

However, this latest moment at United could precede the end of his time at the club as his future remains uncertain.

The Red Devils went on to beat Bournemouth to claim a huge three points that boosts their hopes of finishing in the top four.

They are on the cusp of sealing fourth spot, with one point from their final two games enough to seal it.

“I believe in my players and I believe in myself,” Ten Hag added to talkSPORT. “I know we can do that, but it’s tough work. We had a good plan, but it’s tough work.

“Really close [to achieving top four], but we need one win. Today we enjoy, we will recover and then we go again. We have to prepare for the game against Chelsea.”