Iñigo Martínez is in a state of grace. The Basque centre-back has been one of the names of FC Barcelona at the start of the season, taking advantage of the absences of Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araújo to earn the label of 'undisputed' in Hansi Flick's team. The defender has settled into the centre of defence alongside Pau Cubarsí, and on Tuesday night he received his first award of the season.
The former Athletic Club player, who until the match against Osasuna last weekend had been a starter in all of the Catalan side's games so far this season, returned to the starting line-up after his well-deserved rest (he had accumulated 711 minutes in eight games) and celebrated in style, scoring his first goal wearing the blue and red jersey in Barça's brutal thrashing of Young Boys (5-0).
Martínez made his debut as a goalscorer after 34 games
In his 34th match as a Barça player, Martínez made his debut as a goalscorer by heading in a free kick surgically delivered by Pedri. The defender's powerful header was beyond the reach of goalkeeper Marvin Keller, who could do nothing to prevent his goal from falling for the third time in the night. So, Iñigo receives a well-deserved reward after his impressive start to the season and makes it clear that he is increasingly indispensable for Flick.