1
Argentina and Lisandro Martinez eventually made their dominance pay against Chile in a 1-0 victory which means they sit at the top of Group A with six points from six in Copa America.
The defending champions were totally in charge as they had 22 shots to Chile’s three.
The Argentines also enjoyed 62% of the ball but could only find a late winner in the 88th minute when striker Lautaro Martinez fired home after a spell of pinball in the area.
Manchester United’s inspirational centre back, Martinez, got yet another 90 minutes under his belt and four consecutive matches of playing every minute on international duty will be nothing but good news for fans of the club.
La Albiceleste were in total command defensively and his calm presence was a significant factor in this as Chile were held back with relative ease.
El Carnicero was given a score of 7.5 for his night’s work from Sofascore.
Defensively he was a rock, making two clearances and one interception for his side.
The United number six was also able to make two tackles as very little got by him on the night.
He was strong in the duel winning two out of his four ground battles and was victorious in one out of his two aerial battles.
As fans of the Red Devils know only too well however, Lisandro brings so much more to the team than just his tenacity in defence.
The Argentine brought his usual calmness and effectiveness on the ball, something the Old Trafford crowd sorely missed throughout the majority of the campaign and will hope to see much more of in 2024/2025.
Martinez had 91 touches of the ball and completed 73 of his 82 passes for a percentage of 89% successful ones.
What’s more, he rarely just passes for the sake of passing and he was once again proactive and progressive making one key pass in the game and creating one big chance.
The defender also almost opened his account for the national team when he had a shot blocked that seemed destined for the Chilean net.
The 26 year old may get a rest in Argentina’s next game as they have already qualified for the quarter finals of Copa America but will certainly be confident he will retain his place in the heart of the defence once the knockout phase arrives.
One United player who has failed to make any sort of impact at the tournament so far is Alejandro Garnacho and the 19 year old will be hoping he finally gets his chance to shine in the last game of the tournament against Peru on Saturday night (Sunday morning UK time).
Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
