Argentina and Lisandro Martinez defeated a spirited Colombia 1-0 in extra time to retain their Copa America title.
La Albiceleste are now the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won 16 titles.
A lovely defence-splitting move in the 112th minute allowed Lautaro Martinez to sprint through and produce a classy one-on-one finish to give Argentina the title.
The Inter Milan striker was the hero of the tournament as he finished top scorer on five goals. Argentina can count themselves a little lucky though as Colombia had 19 shots to the champions’ 11 and only 44% of the ball.
The World Cup winners’ success has been based upon their defence as they have incredibly only conceded one goal in six matches.
United’s Lisandro Martinez was at the heart of this and his national team did not concede in the whole tournament when the defender was on the pitch.
Martinez played in five games and was a defensive rock in all of them and has firmly cemented himself as his country’s first choice centre back.
The United number six played all 120 mins and he was given a score of 7.2 on Sofascore.
Due to Colombia’s pressure he had a busy night protecting his nation’s goal and made six clearances and two blocked shots.
He also made three interceptions and won one out of his four ground duels.
The stocky defender was also tough to beat in the air as he won two out of his three aerial battles.
Despite having less of the ball than he has been used to this tournament, he still took great care with his passing.
Martinez had 43 touches and made 27 out of his 31 passes for a success rate of 87%.
Argentina can now celebrate their third major trophy on the bounce and it will be particularly significant for United’s defensive lynchpin as he endured an injury-ravaged campaign.
Nonetheless, an FA Cup winners medal alongside Copa America is a pretty sweet way to finish a complicated season for the defender.
What’s more, while Martinez was part of the World Cup winning team, he was more of a squad player. This win will surely mean a lot as it was his first for his country as bona fide first choice option.
One United man who played much less of a part is Alejandro Garnacho, who started game three of the group stage but did not play any other part in the tournament.
At only 19 years old, it will be a great learning curve to be a part of the group and absorb the experience of serial winners and he will hope to have a greater impact at the World Cup in two years.
Both Argentines will play a critical role in United’s season next year but before they have to worry about that they can take a well-earned holiday and revel in the fact they are American champions once more.
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