Unai Emery hails Emiliano Martinez as the ‘BEST goalkeeper in the world’ after match-winning display and antics against Lille, but admits he ‘thought Argentine would be sent off’
- Emiliano Martinez was the penalty hero for Aston Villa against Lille on Thursday
- He shut down the opposition and fans and collected three yellow cards that evening
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Unai Emery has hailed Emi Martinez as the world’s best goalkeeper after his controversial performance in Aston Villa’s dramatic win over Lille.
Martinez had the last laugh for the Lille fans after riling them up all night and saving two penalties in the shoot-out that set up a Europa Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos.
The Argentina star will miss that match after collecting three bookings in the quarter-final, including one in the shoot-out.
Emery defended him strongly after the match at Stade Pierre Mauroy and went even further on Friday, ahead of Villa’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth on Sunday.
Emery said: “He has been successful individually and with Argentina and Villa. After being successful with Argentina, he continues to improve at Villa.
Emiliano Martinez was teased by Lille fans and enjoyed every moment on Thursday
Martinez was again the hero of Aston Villa’s penalty shootout in the Europa Conference League
Unai Emery called his Aston Villa goalkeeper the best in the world after his performance
Martinez and Villa advance to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League
‘He is decisive in many matches and of course one of the best goalkeepers. The first, second, third? For me he is the best.’
The Villa boss also feared Martinez would be sent off when he was shown a yellow card during the shoot-out, having also been shown a yellow card in the first half for wasting time.
But Martinez escaped as yellow cards in the shoot-out do not count alongside the cards he earns in the general game – although Martinez will still miss the first leg against Olympiacos due to the three yellow cards he collected during the draw.
Emery added: “Yes, I thought he was going to be sent off. I didn’t know the rule. They soon told me about it and now it is very important to us. It was strange because it’s not a normal situation.’