Perfect dribbling, flawless aerial duels, and accurate long balls: United star Martinez excels in new position despite national team’s loss

Despite Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Colombia, Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez offered an optimistic evaluation of his performance on Tuesday night.

At the Roberto Melendez Metropolitan Stadium, Colombia secured a 2-1 victory over Argentina thanks to goals from James Rodriguez and Yerson Mosquera. Rodriguez delivered a precise cross to the far post, where Mosquera made a successful connection to put the home team in the lead in the 25th minute.

Following halftime, Nico Gonzalez navigated through the Colombian defense and managed to slot the ball between the goalkeeper’s legs into the net, scoring for Argentina.

This goal came amid Argentina’s offensive struggles, exacerbated by the absence of their star player, Lionel Messi. At the hour mark, Rodriguez then converted a penalty, awarded to Colombia, to further secure their lead.

Even though his team lost, Martinez performed admirably when Lionel Scaloni used him in a relatively new left-back position in another game.

Stretford Paddock on X: "🇦🇷 Lisandro Martinez was deployed at left-back  for Argentina as he played 64 minutes of their World Cup Qualifier away to  Colombia. Alejandro Garnacho was an unused substitute. #

After spending 64 minutes on the field, Martinez was replaced by Marcos Acuna.

During his brief appearance on the field, Martinez made a crucial tackle as the last defender, thwarting Colombia’s attempts to get close to Emi Martinez’s goal. Out of the four ground duels he participated in, he won three, and he also succeeded in the single aerial duel he contested.

With 30 touches, the 26-year-old completed 18 of his 19 passes, achieving a pass accuracy rate of 95%. Additionally, he attempted two long balls, both of which were successful, and he effectively initiated and concluded both of his dribbles.