100% dribbling, 100% aerial duels, 94% passing: stylish United star brilliant at both ends of the pitch in Burnley draw

Manchester United kicked off the post-Ruben Amorim era with a 2-2 draw at struggling Burnley. The Red Devils were wasteful, a Benjamin Sesko brace all they had to show for the 30 shots they took. An unlucky Ayden Heaven own goal and an impressive second-half effort from Jaidon Antony cancelled out the Slovenian’s haul and left United with just one point in Darren Fletcher’s first game in interim charge. Martinez a metronome Fletcher’s first move in the United dugout was to move to a back four from Amorim’s much-maligned back three. Lisandro Martinez partnered the hapless Heaven at centre-back, where contributed much more than just defensive contributions. The Argentine showed just what he’s capable of with the ball at his feet and was seriously impressive with his passing. Martinez made the most passes of anyone on the pitch, finding his man 64 times from 68 attempts. This worked out at a deeply impressive 94% accuracy. He pinged nine long balls, six of which were accurate. Defence and attack United were not unduly troubled by Burnley’s attack, but Martinez nevertheless was called upon to defend several times. No United man blocked more shots than his two, and he also made one clearance. Of the players to feature for the full 90 minutes, nobody lost possession fewer times than Martinez, who was typically tenacious in the duel. Despite his diminutive stature he won both aerial duels he contested, and came out on top in four of the seven he contested on the ground. His involvement in United’s forward play was evidenced by his remarkable ability to beat his man – he completed all four of his attempted dribbles, more than anyone else on the pitch. He even had the ball in the net in the first half, briefly levelling the score before it was swiftly ruled out for a foul on Kyle Walker. Lisandro Martinez vs. Burnley PlayerLisandro Martinez Goals0 Expected goals (xG)0.01 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.04 Def. contributions3 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances1 Blocked shots2 Recoveries6 Ground duels (won)7 (4) Aerial duels (won)2 (2) Fouls2 Dribbled past0 Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes64/68 (94%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)31/35 (89%) Passes in own half (acc.)33/33 (100%) Long balls (accurate)6/9 (67%) Touches80 Dribbles (successful)4 (4) Possession lost5 Total shots1 Shots on target0 Shots blocked0 It’s an uncertain time at United given Amorim’s sacking and Fletcher’s status as interim coach, but Martinez showed that he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet whoever is writing it. Stats taken from sofascore. Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.