Anthony Martial is known on the pitch for his cool demeanour and finishing ability – and he proved he possesses those qualities off the field too.

The Manchester United forward starred in a video on the club’s Twitter page which saw him complete a buzz-wire challenge – guiding a metal hoop around a wire course without making contract and setting off the alarm. 

Martial’s face is the picture of concentration as he guides the hoop around the tight corners and tricky kinks of the course.

Manchester United striker Anthony Martial completed a buzz-wire challenge in an online video

Martial’s face is the picture of concentration as he guides the hoop around the course

After around 45 seconds, he is able to complete the task, and celebrates with a rare smile

However, after taking around 45 seconds, he is able to complete the task, and celebrates with a rarely-seen smile. 

The feat impressed many United fans on social media, who praised his coolness – while also admitting that his smile at the end was as emotional as they had ever seen their striker. 

One fan made a clever gag comparing his on-field trickery to his ability on the buzz-wire: ‘Martial in tight spaces… what did you expect?’ 

Fans will hope that Martial is as cool in their upcoming fixtures, as they aim for the Premier League top four as well as take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16. 

Martial has been an important figure for United in their good run with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, starting in five of their eight league wins under the interim manager.

The feat impressed many United fans on social media, who praised his coolness

Some also admitted his smile at the end was as emotional as they had ever seen their striker

Fans will hope that Martial is as cool in their upcoming fixtures, as they aim for the top four

One fan made a clever gag comparing his on-field trickery to his ability on the buzz-wire

Britain’s Fed Cup tie against Greece descended into acrimony on Thursday night after visiting player Valentini Grammatikopoulou complained that poor line calls had robbed her of a possible upset against Katie Boulter.

The Greek No 2 and her Captain Anastasios Bavelas were incensed at a series of judgements that went against them in the deciding set as Boulter prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at Bath University Sports Centre.

Grammatikopoulou also wondered why Hawk-eye had not been employed at the indoor venue, where eight nations are battling to try and emerge from the Euro Africa Zone playoffs to reach the elite World Group of the women’s competition. 

Katie Boulter’s Fed Cup win on Thursday was marred in controversy with issues over line calls

Greece’s Valentini Grammatikopoulou felt the match was ‘unfair’ as she questioned decisions

The 21-year-old was left furious at a crucial stage in the match when Boulter’s shot landed in

Along with captain Anastasios Bavelas,she took issue with what she felt were ‘unfair’ calls

Two of the disputed calls in the third set which went in the British player’s favour were in the pivotal game 3-2, which Boulter ended up winning to take a decisive lead. One of them was an overrule from the chair by German umpire Evelina Oehme on which the evidence from TV cameras was inconclusive.

‘This referee (umpire) was not so good so I’m really disappointed in that in Fed Cup,’ said Grammatikopoulou. 

‘It’s really unfair to play like this. I’m not afraid to lose. It’s nice to play against countries and she deserved to win but let’s play fair. That’s why we play tennis.

Bavelas was animated as he suggested the shot to give Boulter break point was definitely long

While both players had grievances in the tie, Boulter did not feel the line calls proved decisive

‘I know Hawk Eye is from Britain so we were a little bit surprised that they didn’t put it here because the thing was made in the country, so it would be nice to have it for the next time. If I want to lose, I want to lose nice.’ 

It would, however, be unusual for the line calling system to be installed for a four day competition like this, which despite healthy crowds is expensive to stage. Putting Hawk Eye on just one court would cost well in excess of £50,000 for the four day event.

Boulter did not feel the calls were decisive, saying: ‘There were a couple of bad calls here or there, whether they were good or bad I don’t know, there was a let that I thought wasn’t called, it goes both ways.’

Ultimately the home player, ranked nearly 100 places higher in the world at 83, was able to come back from an early break down in the decider to force the win against the plucky Greek, who with Bavelas had remonstrated at length after the disputed calls.

Jo Konta faced Greek No 1 Maria Sakkari in the second match of the head-to-head matches

Sakkari is an impressive player on the women’s circuit and proved a tricky opponent in Bath

Following on from them Jo Konta was taking on Greek No 1 Maria Sakkari to try and clinch the tie for Great Britain, cheered on by another sold out crowd.

With the structure of this event being two round robins of four teams, GB will take on Hungary on Friday in the hope of emerging as the top team of their league.

If they can do that they will play the winners of Serbia and Croatia, who face each other with the winner sure to be the top team from Group B on Friday.

Injured forward Maro Itoje and Japan head coach Jamie Joseph watched on as England put the final touches to their preparations for Sunday’s crunch clash against France at Twickenham.

Itoje took part in a spot of catching practice with coach Tony Brown but the 24-year-old lock was unable to take any active part in the session at Pennyhill Park on Thursday due to the knee injury which has ruled him out for at least two weeks.  

Fit-again flanker Brad Shields was keen to impress after being named in the 25-man squad with coach Eddie Jones due to confirm his starting XV and replacements on Friday morning. 

England head coach Eddie Jones watches a drill during a training session at Pennyhill Park

Joe Cokanasiga has been recalled to the 25-man squad after recovering from a knee injury

Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga, recalled to the match squad after recovering from a knee injury, was put through his paces as England geared up for a tough physical encounter against France.   

England flanker Mark Wilson told the official RFU website: ‘You play the game for physical challenges and it is something we enjoy.

‘It’s been well documented that the French have a big pack, but there’s strengths and weaknesses in every pack, and we’ll do our homework to make sure we find out ways to exploit them.

‘It’s important to stay away from opposition strengths, like size. If you get into an arm wrestle with them then you could have a tough day at the office.’ 

Fit-again flanker Brad Shields was keen to impress after being named in the 25-man squad

Henry Slade practices his kicking during an England training session at Pennyhill Park

An injured Maro Itoje catches a ball kicked by England coach Tony Brown on Thursday

Japan head coach Jamie Joseph was also an interested spectator at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might be flying high since taking charge of Manchester United but even the Norwegian has to come back down to earth when it comes to shopping. 

The United interim manager spent part of Thursday out shopping in Hale as he collected various food items from high-end supermarket Booths. 

United are busy preparing to take on struggling Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday and Solskjaer appeared to be stocking up before heading down to London for an overnight stay on Friday. 

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went out shopping in Cheshire on Thursday

Solskjaer came in as a successor to Jose Mourinho in December and has enjoyed a near flawless record – the 2-2 draw against Burnley the only time Solskjaer has not picked up maximum points.  

Fulham are in desperate need of wins as they prepare to face in-form United second-bottom of the league, seven points adrift of safety. 

Claudio Ranieri will have made his defence well aware of the threats Solskjaer’s side pose, no less than United’s player of the month Marcus Rashford. 

The 21-year-old has thrived under the guidance of former Reds striker Solskjaer as he netted six goals in January.  

Solskjaer is looking to make it 11 games unbeaten as his side travel to face Fulham on Saturday

‘If you look at the stats, I was told that he is younger than Ronaldo and Rooney to reach 150 appearances for Manchester United,’ Solskjaer said after his recent 150th appearance. 

‘Not bad, is it? The 150th game is a feat in itself, being 21, but with the level of his performance, the maturity in his finishing and his work-rate, it’s a dream to have players like him in the team.

‘He can be absolutely top-class. He’s playing the best football of his career. He’s got a great future.’

United are approaching a really tricky period once they are done and dusted in south west London as they welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Old Trafford on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Solskjaer’s side then travel to face Chelsea in the FA Cup before welcoming title chasers and fierce rivals Liverpool to Manchester after that.  

Marcus Rashford will look to play a big role after collecting United’s player of the month award

Troy Deeney has urged Watford fans to not taunt Everton boss Marco Silva when the two sides meet on Saturday afternoon… but the Watford captain couldn’t help but take a swipe at the former Hornets manager.

The 30-year-old told supporters that winding Silva up will ‘only motivate’ the Toffees when they visit Vicarage Road for their Premier League grudge match this weekend.

The two clubs have been at loggerheads over the Portuguese manager, who enjoyed a brief spell with Watford before he made his well-publicised move to Goodison Park after he was sacked by the Hornets.

Watford captain Troy Deeney has taken a swipe at Everton manager Marco Silva

The Portuguese boss returns to Vicarage Road for the first time since he was fired as manager

Watford’s bitter feud with Everton over Silva has raged on since his appointment at the beginning of this season and it was a big talking point at a Watford fans’ forum event on Wednesday evening. 

Deeney, chief executive Scott Duxbury and technical director Filippo Giraldi all answered questions over kit designs, ticket prices and stadium expansion before talking about Silva.

When asked at The Hornets’ Nest what he was going to say to Silva before the game, Duxbury revealed that he would not be meeting the Everton boss and would instead ‘let the team do the talking’. 

(L-R) Deeney, Filippo Giraldi and Scott Duxbury answered questions at a fan forum this week

Deeney was less than forgiving when it came to Silva after firing a jibe at the 41-year-old.

When asked about which clubs have impressed him, Deeney said: ‘The people at Everton are fantastic. Not the manager.’

The club’s skipper understands what the game means to the fans as they both continue to battle for a Europa League spot.

Silva was sacked as Watford boss last January before making well-publicised move to Everton

While Deeney encouraged support on Saturday, he asked that supporters should leave Silva alone.

He explained: ‘We’d prefer it if you left him alone… It’ll only motivate them more. Leave him alone, let us kick the s*** out of them.’

Watford sit one point above Everton in eighth having played a game less than the Merseyside club. 

England have been dealt an injury scare on the eve of their quest to avoid becoming the first team to lose to West Indies by a three-Test margin since the eighties with Ben Stokes nursing a bruised right heel.

Durham all-rounder Stokes travelled to England’s penultimate training session but did not take part in practice due to the wear and tear issue.

The 27-year-old remains confident of being fit, having sat out the net session as a precautionary measure. He spent the majority of the day having ice applied to the area.

The injury is said to be precautionary but Ben Stokes did not take part in training on Thursday

However, the development was still of concern two days shy of the final match in St Lucia and the England management will undoubtedly take a cautious approach to one of their prized assets with the World Cup and Ashes on the horizon.

The no-risk policy has already seen Chris Woakes, who has been dogged by a knee problem since the warm-up matches in Barbados, wrapped in cotton wool while wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was still reporting some discomfort in his right hand a week after being struck by Shannon Gabriel in Antigua.

That pair both took some part in training on Thursday as an England team that arrived in the Caribbean attempting to win for just the second time in 51 years now face the prospect of claiming an unwanted piece of history as the first opponents to lose to the Windies by a scoreline of 3-0 or greater since India in 1989.

The wretched displays so far led England coach Trevor Bayliss to slam the lack of a will to fight and called a crisis meeting at the team hotel following the 10-wicket defeat in Antigua last week.

Joe Root will be hoping his side can avoid a series whitewash in the third and final Test

James Anderson took two wickets in the second Test as his side struggled to bowl the hosts out

‘I think as a player when those kind of things are questioned it can hurt your pride so you want to prove him wrong,’ said vice-captain Jos Buttler.

‘Watching an innings such as Darren Bravo’s, who showed lots of guts and courage on a tough wicket to take lots of blows, sometimes that is what it takes. That is a good example of a way of playing and being brave in that sense. But these are things in the past certain guys have shown that.

‘The guts, courage and determination of the group is very strong. We have not been good enough to show that at times on this tour. Looking at this week we will be looking to show lots more of that.’

In the absence of their Northamptonshire-bound captain Jason Holder, through an ICC suspension, West Indies are unlikely to alter their modus operandi of pace and aggression at a ground where Shannon Gabriel claimed career-best match figures of 13 for 121 versus Sri Lanka last year.

Left-arm medium-fast bowler Sam Curran (right) did not take any wickets in the second Test 

Joe Denly made his Test debut ahead of dropped Keaton Jennings in the second Test last week

‘We have not been able to soak up areas of pressure West Indies have put on us and we haven’t got anything going in partnerships or anyone individually standing up, making a score and batting for periods of time. Those are the areas we need to improve this week,’ Buttler added.

‘The real skill of the best players and best teams around the world is they adapt to those conditions better than the opposition. As a player and as a team you’re always reviewing that logically, are we getting that balance quite right? You’re looking for that perfect sweet spot in performance and tempo.’

With such uncertainty over availability, England will contemplate several combinations to turn around their fortunes with the bat, following scores of 77, 246, 187 and 132 so far – including captain Joe Root moving to three and Jos Buttler to four.

‘It’s probably high for me. In the sense of where I’ve batted for the majority of my career. But you have to do what’s right for the team and I have a lot of faith in my ability and feel like I can perform the role the team requires,’ Buttler said.