Last night’s UEFA Champions League match between FC Barcelona and the Swiss club BSC Young Boys turned out to be a memorable occasion for the 33-year-old defender Inigo Martinez.
The Spaniard has been playing excellently since the start of this season and has already proven himself to be the leader of this Barcelona defence which is currently without two other important players, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.
But the last night was special as he finally scored his first goal in a Barcelona shirt after having joined the club last year. He also provided an assist for Robert Lewandowski which allowed the Pole to score his second goal in this game.
However, the game was not entirely perfect for the Spanish defender, as he had to leave the pitch in the final phase of the game. He was reportedly suffering from discomfort in the lower back and asked for a substitution.
As SPORT has reported, the defender opened up on this issue as he spoke to the media after the match. After revealing the effects of Hansi Flick’s confidence in him, the defender went on to dispel any concerns about his fitness: “It’s just a strain; I’ll be ready for the next match without any issues.”
The defender was also quite happy with his offensive contributions last night: “I was eager to score a goal with Barcelona. It had been a while since I could do it. I’m happy with this first goal in the Champions League, although I always say that a defender’s primary job is to defend, and if you can contribute in attack, that’s even better.”
With this performance, Martínez has further demonstrated his strong form at the start of the season. Hopefully, he will be able to maintain these performances as the season progresses and keep helping youngsters like Cubarsi and Balde keep the team’s backline intact.