Manchester United duo Lisandro Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho both impressed in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Chile in World Cup qualification.
Goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala gave the Argentines all three points.
A photo of a young Garnacho wearing a Dybala shirt went popular on social media shortly after the 20-year-old assisted Dybala’s score in Buenos Aires. The winger even sent an emotional tweet in response to the photo, saying, “Just football.”
The winger’s brother Roberto posted the image of a young Alejandro Garnacho wearing the Dybala shirt in 2016 on his X (formerly Twitter) account, causing it to become viral. An actualised dream.
A memorable evening for Dybala and Garnacho with Argentina
For this talented team on the Argentine national team, the 3-0 victory over Chile was very memorable. Garnacho played in Argentina for the first time, while Dybala scored in his return to La Albiceleste after missing the 2024 Copa America.
The young player from Manchester United had only represented Argentina in China, Indonesia, Bolivia, and the US until today. Will Dybala and Garnacho play together more frequently on the global scene? Fans are hoping that a new partnership is developed in Argentina, with Lionel Messi nearing retirement and Angel Di Maria retiring.
They now sit five points clear in first place with an imperious six wins from seven in qualifying.
The Copa America winners dominated with 65% of the ball and 15 shots to their opponents’ five.
Martinez played 79 minutes of the game and once again helped his national side keep a clean sheet.
He was given a score of 7.5 on Sofascore and made four clearances on the night.
Martinez made one interception and also won his only ground duel.
The central defender was also dominant in the air, winning 5/5 aerial battles.
The 26 year old has not made the most steady start for United this season but he was imperious on the ball once more for the Argentines, as he had 67 touches and completed 96% of his 54 passes.
He was also an attacking threat in a complete performance, as he had one shot on target, one off it and also had another effort blocked.
Martinez was in immense form for la Albiceleste during the summer and it seems he picked up exactly where he left off from the Copa America.
Alejandro Garnacho also had the rare opportunity to play for his national side, coming off the bench for the final 11 minutes of play.
Despite little time to impress he was given a score of 6.9 and registered an assist for Dybala’s late strike in the 91st minute.
He picked up the ball on the left wing and carried it forward before laying it off for Dybala to fiercely strike home from outside the box.
Garnacho also had a shot on target and completed 82% of his eleven passes in what was an eventful short cameo off the bench for the United winger.
In what promises to be an exciting match and an early rematch of the July Copa America final, both stars will be looking to maintain their excellent form when Argentina takes on the difficult task of traveling to Colombia on Tuesday.
