Manchester United showed no signs of slowing down, as they made it four wins out of four under Michael Carrick at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Fans might have expected the Red Devils to struggle when Tottenham Hotspur went down to 10 men, as the home side has struggled against low defensive blocks in the recent past.
But not on Saturday, as they dispatched Spurs 2-0 with clinical efficiency, thereby getting the monkey off their backs.
One player who ran the show from deep was Lisandro Martinez. Given time and space to pick passes, he ended up completing 103 out of 109 attempted passes, most among any outfield player.
Lisandro Martinez ran the show
Two out of his three long ball attempts also found their mark while he also completed a 100 percent of his dribble attempts.
| Category | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Expected Assists (xA) | 0.06 |
| Defensive Contributions | 8 |
| Tackles (won) | 2 (2) |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Clearances | 4 |
| Blocked Shots | 0 |
| Recoveries | 7 |
| Ground Duels (won) | 7 (4) |
| Aerial Duels (won) | 1 (0) |
| Fouls | 3 |
| Dribbled Past | 0 |
| Key Passes | 0 |
| Crosses (accurate) | 0 (0) |
| Accurate Passes | 103 / 109 (94%) |
| Passes in Opposition Half (accurate) | 61 / 67 (91%) |
| Passes in Own Half (accurate) | 42 / 42 (100%) |
| Long Balls (accurate) | 2 / 3 (67%) |
| Touches | 120 |
| Unsuccessful Touches | 1 |
| Dribbles (successful) | 1 (1) |
| Was Fouled | 1 |
| Possession Lost | 7 |
| Total Carrying Distance | 255.5 m |
| Carries | 33 |
| Progressive Carries | 2 |
| Total Progression | 152 m |
| Progressive Carrying Distance | 54.2 m |
| Longest Progressive Carry | 26.1 m |
| Total Shots | 0 |
| Shots on Target | 0 |
| Shots Blocked | 0 |
match stats via sofascore
Out of 120 touches of the football, the World Cup winner had a loose touch only once.
Known for his combative edge, the 28-year-old hardly put a foot wrong at the back as United notched only their fourth clean sheet of the season, with two of them coming under Carrick.
The Argentina international won all his tackles, while completing two interceptions and completing four clearances.
Lisandro Martinez also recovered the ball seven times, winning four ground duels as well (all stats via sofascore).
Back to his best again
There were murmurs that the ex-Ajax ace would be moved on with Barcelona interested as he struggled to impose himself under Ruben Amorim.
The former head coach was also contemplating shifting him to midfield to compensate for his limited aerial ability and lack of pace.
But Carrick‘s arrival has once again brought out the best in him, with Lisandro Martinez starting in all four games under the former midfielder.
The caretaker head coach will hope for more of the same from the centre-back as he seeks to guide United back into the Champions League.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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