the nice return to form of Anthony Martial

From young French football talent rising during Euro 2016 to AEK Athens, there has been a long agony on the Manchester United side for Anthony Martial. Capable of some upheavals with the Red Devils, Anthony Martial had a rather complicated history with England for 9 years. Now aged 29, the French striker left Old Trafford after 317 matches (90 goals and 47 assists), with a Europa League (2017), a Community Shield (2017), two Carabao Cups (2017 and 2023). ) as well as an FA Cup (2016). A correct overall assessment despite everything, even if a feeling of regret predominates. Free from any contract and while clubs like Lille or Galatasaray have been linked to him, it was finally in a surprising way that he joined AEK Athens on September 19.

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A rather surprising decision for the Frenchman who joined the third in the Greek championship with the desire to help the Kitrinomavri seek a title which has eluded them since 2018. In a fairly aging squad whose average age is 29.3 years, Anthony Martial found some fairly well-known names like Albanian goalkeeper Tomas Strakosha, defenders Harold Moukoudi and Domagoj Vida as well as Argentinians Roberto Pereyra and Erik Lamela. In a cosmopolitan locker room with 20 different nationalities represented, Anthony Martial needed a month to regain his physical level and make up for a delay in preparation. Starting his season on October 20 against PAOK Salonika (1-1), Anthony Martial was able to find some sensations before coming off the bench again six days later against Panserraikos (1-0 defeat).

Anthony Martial scorer for his first start

Finally, we had to wait until this Wednesday to finally see him in action from the kickoff of the match. In a 1-0 victory against Aris Salonika in the Greek Cup, Anthony Martial was able to score a fox goal from the box and finished with the man of the match trophy. Good news for the Frenchman whose growing physical form lets him imagine achieving great things this season. “I feel very good because it's been a long time since I played. Scoring my first goal in this stadium is incredible for me. I am very happy that we won. It's perfect. The atmosphere is incredible at every match», he said happily after the meeting at AEK TV.

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As a liberation, Anthony Martial had not scored for almost a year and a pawn against Everton (3-0) on November 26. He then affirmed his joy at playing in Greece and believes that he feels good in the country of Homer: “I think the most important thing is that we played well in the first half. The most important thing was to win, we played well and we continue. Greek football continues to improve from year to year, I got information from my brother, who also played in Greece (Joan Martial left Panaitolikos editor's note). I was impressed with the facilities and the grounds. I feel a lot better, my last match was in January, I'm training hard, I want to get back in shape to help the team. The people at AEK are very nice, I feel very happy to be here.» Well in his crampons and gaining momentum, Anthony Martial is launched into his Greek odyssey.