Dani Alves’ injury open the doors to the starting team for Martín Montoya, who has put in excellent performances in the three games he’s featured in this season, two of them against Real Madrid
It’s time for Martín Montoya to take centre stage. After Alves picked up a thigh injury against Real Madrid, the Catalan defender – who’s currently playing out his first season as a first team player – has a golden opportunity to break into Barça’s starting XI.
221 minutes played
Up until now, the defender’s performances have been impeccable. He’s featured in three games and he’s enjoyed a total of 221 minutes. His first match this season was the return leg of the Spanish Super Cup at the Bernabéu (2-1), later he lined up against Getafe (1-4) and on Sunday he faced Real Madrid for the second time this season (2-2).
His two games against Los Blancos were fairly similar: he came onto the pitch as a substitute, Alves had picked up an injury and he came close to scoring in the dying minutes of the game. If he had a bit more luck in front of goal, Montoya would have won the Super Cup for Barça and given the Blaugrana the three points against Madrid in the Liga.
Montoya has played a total of 15 games for the first team since he became a Barça player. In fact, his 12th match for the team was in the final of the 2011 Copa del Rey, when the team defeated Athletic Club by 3 to 0. Barça’s record with him on the pitch stands at 11 victories, 2 draws and 2 defeats.