Lisandro Martinez had a superb 45 minutes of football for Manchester United in last night's 1-0 Europa League defeat to Real Sociedad, despite the controversial penalty decision.
The main talking point from Thursday night's match came in the 57th minute, when Sociedad were awarded a penalty due to a handball decision against Martinez. The defender, who was brought on at half-time by Erik ten Hag, flung himself at a David Silva shot on the edge of the box as the ball ricocheted off his knee and onto his arm.
There was nothing intentional in the Argentine's actions that saw the ball cannon off his arm, five yards away from Silva, yet the initial decision was not overturned.
ALSO READ: United player ratings vs Real Sociedad
Martinez's introduction for the second-half showed once again how good a signing the 24-year-old has been this season. The former Ajax man added some much needed aggression and urgency to United's defence as he looked forward with his progressive passing.
Martinez's stats back up his performance as he won all of his duels in the second half, all three of his tackles and made two vital interceptions.
His impact moving the ball up the pitch for United was clear to see. Martinez's passing accuracy was 83 per cent, higher than Antony, Fred, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, as he completed 34 passes in the second-half, providing one 'key pass' to help create a goalscoring chance for his side.
Not only was the accuracy of his passing impressive, but the number of times Martinez moved the ball forward, making the sixth most passes for United on Thursday night despite only playing for 45 minutes.
The headlines might well focus on the fact that Martinez's handball made the difference for the Reds against their La Liga opposition. But focusing on last night's absurd penalty decision loses sight of the impact the Argentinian is having on this team under Ten Hag, as the former Ajax star adds a new dimension to United's defensive unit.
READ NEXT:
