LONDON • Anthony Martial has more reason than most of his Manchester United team-mates for wanting to score against French club Saint-Etienne in tomorrow's Europa League round-of-32 first-leg tie at Old Trafford.
Martial, 21, made his way in football as a youth player with Lyon, arch-rivals of Saint-Etienne in France.
The France winger never played in the senior derby fixture but would love to be on target against Saint-Etienne, even though a goal would cost United €10 million (S$15.07 million) given a clause in their deal with Monaco, Martial's former club.
"There was a huge rivalry while I was still at Lyon," Martial told United's official website.
"It was always a highly charged atmosphere and they were usually massive games, the kind all players love to play in. So there will be that added competitive edge whenever I play against them.
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24
Number of goals Anthony Martial has netted for Manchester United. Scoring his 25th will trigger a €10m payment to his former club Monaco.
"We know it will be a difficult match but if we play with all our quality, I think we can do good things.
"Of course, it would be great if I could score against them again, but I hope we can win the game because that's the most important thing."
Tomorrow's match is set to pit United and France midfielder Paul Pogba, 23, against his elder brother and defender Florentin, 26.
"They are well known for being big jokers and mickey-takers but, once they are on the field, it will be like two warriors who are going all out to win the game," Martial added.
"If one beats the other, he'll immediately start giving out loads of stick so they'll be desperate to do all they can to win."
REUTERS
