It’s Martial law: Louis van Gaal hails young gun as Manchester United pile misery on Liverpool

Louis van Gaal backed Anthony Martial to shine at Manchester United after the world’s most expensive teenager exploded onto the Premier League stage with a superb debut goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win against Liverpool.

Signed from Monaco on transfer deadline day for a reported initial fee of £36 million that even the United manager admitted was “ridiculous”, French striker Martial had been dismissed in some quarters as a panic buy.

But the hefty price tag didn’t seem to bother the 19-year-old, who came on as a 65th minute substitute and settled one of English football’s heavyweight clashes with a devastating knockout blow.

Van Gaal’s side were clinging to a 2-1 lead in the 86th minute when Martial took possession on the left, surged past Martin Skrtel and cut inside before calmly steering his shot into the far corner to cap a memorable United debut.

“When you make a goal like Anthony you cannot wish for more I think,” Van Gaal said.

“A lot of players have made a debut and scored with me so it’s a good signal.”