Jose Mourinho has praised Anthony Martial's display in Manchester United's 4-2 win over Watford but believes that the winger is struggling to cope with too many matches.
The 21-year-old scored his side's third goal in at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night to bring his tally to eight for the season in 20 games, the same number he got after 42 appearances across the 2016-17 campaign.
Martial was believed to be earmarked for a move away in the summer, but the Frenchman's appearance against the Hornets was his fourth consecutive start since Mourinho's first month at United.
"I am pleased," Mourinho said to Sky Sports News about Martial's performance. "I think he suffers a little bit with accumulation of matches. I could feel that in the second half he was going down and down and down.
"He's still a young guy and his body, his biological situation has space to improve but in the first half, during the time, he had strength and explosion in his legs. He was dangerous and scored an important goal."
Martial has made 111 appearances for United since his 2015 move from Monaco, scoring 33 goals and registering 23 assists.