Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes scored a dramatic late winner for the club against Rangers.
After Cyril Dessers had equalised, it looked like another unhappy Old Trafford result for Manchester United.
Bruno Fernandes stepped up to score a late winner, one he couldn’t have done by himself. It came after a pinpoint pass from Lisandro Martinez.
Martinez’s pass cut right through the Rangers’ defence, with Fernandes judging the flight of the ball perfectly to strike past the hapless Jack Butland, sealing a 2-1 home win.
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Lisandro Martinez passing is secret weapon
One of the reasons Manchester United made Lisandro Martinez a top centre-back target in 2022 was because of his passing ability.
Martinez may be nicknamed ‘The Butcher’ due to his toughness and combative nature, but he has a feathery touch when he passes the football.
The Argentine is comfortable with the ball at his feet, and very effective as a progressive passer, intent on playing the ball forwards, instead of backwards.
This is the second time under Ruben Amorim that Lisandro Martinez has been able to impact the game in stoppage time to create a late winning goal.
It was Martinez’s pass to Amad that created the opportunity for Manchester United to score a late winner way at Manchester City in December.
Amad did the rest, gambling on Martinez’s precise through ball that split the City defence at The Etihad, prompting wild celebrations.
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Manchester United teammates show trust
Lisandro Martinez’s passing ability is under rated among the media, yet clearly not by his Manchester United teammates.
In the two cases late in games against Rangers and Manchester City, Bruno Fernandes and Amad showed their faith and trust in Martinez, by making the runs in the first place.
Both attackers showed they believe in Martinez’s ability to see the pass, and execute it perfectly, by taking the gambles and encouraging him to make it.
The other United players on the pitch showed faith in Martinez by giving him possession, and trusting him in those late situations, giving him the freedom to feel he can make those incisive passes, rather than defer to others and lay the ball off short.
Manchester United is a high pressure club, and these players know it. We have seen players wilt, time and time again. Martinez is not one, he embraces the challenge, and in late situations against City and Rangers, showed he can thrive in it, for the good of the team.
Martinez did not feature in the loss to Brighton, United’s only defeat of 2025 so far. It’s clear he was missed.
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