Barcelona defender comes out as the reference point for his team on the pitch against Young Boys | OneFootball

After their demoralizing defeat against Osasuna in La Liga over the weekend, FC Barcelona returned to top spirits with a 5-0 victory over BSC Young Boys in their second UEFA Champions League match last night.

Several Blaugrana players stood out in this match, but one of the most glittering of these players was the Spanish defender, Inigo Martinez. The former Athletic Club man not only scored his first goal in a Barcelona shirt but also assisted Robert Lewandowski for his second goal in the game.

But it was not only for these offensive contributions that the Spaniard excelled last night. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, he was also the player on the pitch to whom the Barcelona players wanted to give most of their passes.

Martinez was the player to have received the most passes from his teammates on the night. According to data collected and published by Opta, there were up to five Barcelona players who gave most of their passes to the 33-year-old center-back.

These players include Pau Cubarsi, Balde, Pedri, Inaki Pena, and Ferran Torres, with them making 27, 14, 12, 10, and 4 passes to Martinez respectively. This statistic goes on to confirm the role of the defensive leader that the Spanish defender has assumed from the start of this season.

But this association was not one-sided either, as Martinez also gave most of his passes to three of these teammates, Pau Cubarsi, Pedri, and Inaki Pena, to whom he made 31, 14, and 14 passes respectively.

In addition to showcasing his position of leadership in the team, these statistics also go on to show the good passing abilities of the Spanish defender. These skills were put to good use last night as he created the second goal for Lewandowski, and also helped his team not get into many dangerous positions by retaining possession.