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Manchester United beat Real Betis by four goals to one at Old Trafford in the Europa League at Old Trafford this evening.
United’s 4-1 victory was the first game of a two-legged tie with the second match set to take place in Spain in seven days’ time.
Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst all got on the scoresheet.
Ayoze Perez grabbed Betis’s goal.
At times during the game, the Red Devils were required to be astute defensively, especially in the first half.
United came out unscathed and central to this defensive solidity was Lisandro Martinez.
The World Cup winner started the game next to Raphael Varane and mustered an incredible performance as United put one foot into the quarter-finals.
Martinez registered a 92% pass accuracy during the time he was on the pitch for the 20-time English champions.
Martinez had 78 touches of the ball and completed 61 passes.
The 25-year-old successfully pinged five out of the eight long balls he tried to deliver to his teammates.
Martinez won all four of the ground duels he delved into – a 100% success rate.
Martinez also won all three of his tackles.
A defensive masterclass from the Argentine, the centre-back also won 100% of his contests in the air.
Martinez made three clearances and completed all of his dribbles.
Lisandro Martinez’s game by numbers vs. Real Betis:
92% pass accuracy
78 touches
61 passes completed
5/8 long balls completed
4/4 ground duels won
3/3 tackles won
3/3 aerial duels won
3 clearances
1/1 dribbles completedThe Butcher. 😤🔪 pic.twitter.com/08wc30Ggj4
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 9, 2023
If there were any doubts that came up regarding Martinez’s reliability after the Liverpool game, these were firmly banished after the Real Betis clash.
Martinez expressed happiness at his team’s performance after the game. He said, “It was a great result for us, but we have to keep going. It doesn’t say anything this result. It’s the first leg and when we go to Betis, we have to be ready and focused, especially in their home, they play well and have the support of their people.”
🗣️ – Lisandro Martinez: “It was a great result for us, but we have to keep going. It doesn’t say anything this result. It’s the first leg and when we go to Betis, we have to be ready and focused, especially in their home, they play well and have the support of their people.”… https://t.co/cXK51gHRF6
— UtdXclusive (@UtdXclusive) March 9, 2023
