Lisandro Martinez put in an outstanding performance to help Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the first-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
I thought Martinez’s line breaking passes and his defending were one of the key attributes of his performance against Forest at the City Ground as he helped put United in pole position to qualify for the final of the League Cup.
A solid night's work, and a great result to take back to Old Trafford for next week's second leg 💪#MUFC || #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/ZT6qVWKEQL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 26, 2023
The Butcher, as he is known by the United fans, was also great in the air, and we could see that Forest tried to target him by going by direct, however, as he has done throughout the season, the World Cup winner stood strong and dominated his opponent in the air.
Martinez, who has played in a World Cup semi-final, showed exactly why ten Hag was desperate to sign the Argentina international and his experience of playing in big World Cup matches allowed him to play with a sense of calmness and composure.
Victor Lindelof had a few rusty moments in the first half, but Martinez was there to help out the Swede as he made vital clearances to prevent Forest from scoring, and it is great to see that Martinez is helping others around him as well as maintaining his own high performance levels.
🔊 A post-match message from our no.6 — take it away, @LisandrMartinez!@TeamViewer ↔️ #BringingYouCloser#MUFC || #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/S4WkwtQYbn
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 25, 2023
The United number 6 was awarded the Player of the Match award by the Sky Sports commentary team, and it is not a surprise to see him win the award as the statistics also back up the performance from the United man.
According to StatmanDave, the United defender made 95 passes and had a remarkable 92% passing accuracy, but it was not just his passing that was a highlight, his defending was exemplary as well because according to StatmanDave, the Argentine won 5 tackles, made 4 clearances and he also won 3 out of his 4 aerial duels.
Lisandro Martinez’s game by numbers vs. Nottingham Forest:
119 touches
95 passes completed
92% pass accuracy
5 tackles won
4 clearances
3 long balls completed
3/4 aerial duels won
2 interceptions
1 block
0 goals concededBrilliant. 🔪 pic.twitter.com/vZmgVvCvJw
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 25, 2023