For Hansi Flick at this early stage of the season, Inigo Martinez is proving to be a vital component. The Barcelona center defender has started every game the Blaugranes have played this season and has only been replaced in the 81st minute of one of those contests against Villarreal.

Given that other seasoned players like Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen are now sidelined due to long-term injuries, he is one of Hansi Flick’s backline leaders. It was only during yesterday night’s game against Getafe that Flick specifically praised him, emphasizing his leadership abilities.

The former Athletic Club defender made sure Flick was feeling good while starting the match against the Madrid-based team despite the expectation that he would be rested.

This was a wise choice, as Mundo Deportivo has pointed out, because the Spaniard had a fantastic game last night. With 452 completed passes out of 492 passes, he now holds the record for most completed passes in La Liga thanks to this effort. Daley Blind, a center-back for Girona, is in second place with 450 completions out of 491 attempts.

Especially in the game against Getafe, he gave an excellent effort. With 117 touches on the ball, he completed 102 passes, which is more than the entire Getafe team managed to accomplish, since the visitors were only able to complete 92 passes overall.

Moreover, not only did he make a lot of passes, but some of them were also quite efficient from an offensive perspective. His through balls inside and diagonal passes, which found Lamine Yamal and Jules Kounde, were crucial to Barcelona’s offensive build-up that evening.

Martinez did not, however, have a perfect match because he was also knocked down in the closing stages of the game. He had to play despite pain because all the changes had already been made, but for the time being, his participation in the upcoming Barcelona game is safe.