Iñigo Martínez returned to ownership with Barça in style, greatly against Sevilla!

It didn't take long for Iñigo Martínez to return to the starting lineup for FC Barcelona. The Basque defender was one of the eleven chosen by Hansi Flick to be part of the starting lineup from the beginning against Sevilla FC (1-4), and boy, did he respond in style! The former Athletic Club player crowned a great performance in the 90 minutes of play against Sevilla, reaffirming his importance as a stellar leader in the Culé defensive line.

Initially, what stood out the most from Iñigo Martínez's performance against Sevilla FC was his assist to Robert Lewandowski in the goal that 'opened the scoring'. And how could it not? The Ondarroa native, completely focused on the attack, took advantage of a very good cross into the box courtesy of Raphinha, imposing himself with a powerful jump over Saúl Ñíguez and Nemanja Gudelj to head the ball down and set up 'Lewy' to score the 0-1.

Iñigo Martínez's standout performance against Sevilla in numbers

However, Iñigo Martínez's performance was not limited to just this action. The '5' led FC Barcelona in defensive clearances (4) and blocked shots (1). Additionally, he was the player with the most successful passes, with 82 out of 89 (92% accuracy), the one who received the ball the most (100 times), and led in successful ball progressions, with 22: 16 through passes and six through dribbles.

• ⏰Minutes played: 90
• 👟Assists: 1
• ⚔️Clearances: 4
• 🚫Blocked shots: 1
• ❌Interceptions: 1
• ⚔️Duels won: 2/5
• ✅Fouls drawn: 1
• ⚽Ball touches: 100
• 👟Passes: 82/89 (92%)
• ✅Key passes: 1
• ⚽Long balls: 5/10
• ✅Big chances created: 1

A noteworthy fact is that the Sevilla players could not dribble past Iñigo Martínez on any occasion, reinforcing his solid defensive performance. It is worth remembering that the Basque was only dribbled past once in 19 LaLiga EA Sports matches, proving to be one of the best defenders in the competition, providing firmness and leadership in the defensive line with constant focus and intensity, as evidenced in the match against Sevilla.

At minute 92, even with the score settled at an indisputable 1-4 in favor of the Catalan team, he threw himself to the ground with a sliding tackle to cut out a cross into the box from Dodi Lukebakio. An action he celebrated with tremendous enthusiasm.

The Basque defender's statements after the match against Sevilla

Iñigo Martínez has also proven to be a leader both on and off the field. The Ondarroa native did not hesitate to assert in front of the 'DAZN' cameras that FC Barcelona is fully alive in the fight for LaLiga EA Sports, refuting those who thought otherwise. "Today was about winning to stay in LaLiga. Now we put pressure on, we are working well and it's perfect for us to move closer to the top spot. Apart from our mistake after the goal, the team knew how to suffer in the end and the feelings are very good," he commented.

"The team has room for improvement, if anyone thought we were dead, we have shown that we are very much alive."

Similarly, Iñigo Martínez did not hesitate to clarify the reason behind the enthusiastic celebration of his defensive interventions. "Celebrating defensive actions? Defense is my job. I celebrate defensive actions with the same enthusiasm as my offensive contributions," he concluded.