Yahoo News What Unai Emery said about Emi Martinez after Aston Villa penalty heroics in Lille
Unai Emery has hailed Emi Martinez’s heroics in the penalty shoot-out against Lille, as he saved two spot-kicks to book Aston Villa’s place in the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
Villa lost 2-1 in 90 minutes, but Matty Cash’s goal in the 87th minute took the game to extra-time with the score 3-3 on aggregate. Douglas Luiz missed a big opportunity in the first half of extra-time, but Villa knew they had an advantage in the shoot-out with Martinez between the sticks.
Martinez was the hero for Argentina when they won the World Cup in Qatar against France. It was deja vu for French fans in the Stade Pierre Mauroy as Martinez saved Nabil Bentaleb’s spot-kick and then Benjamin Andre’s, just before it looked like the shoot-out was heading into sudden death.
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The goalkeeper was cautioned in the first half for time-wasting and was booked again in the shoot-out after celebrating his first save, but wasn’t sent off. The reason why is because yellow cards before penalties do not carry over. Players that have been shown a red card during the game cannot take part in the shoot-out.
"He is very important for us," Emery said. "He has his personality and his personality in the dressing room is very important because he is a leader with his experiences. He has a really brilliant mentality.
"And then on the pitch he has his personality and he played fantastic. He saved two penalty shots so of course I am very proud of him. I am very proud of all the players."
Asked whether he and his players thought Martinez had been sent off in the shoot out: "Yes. But the rules are like that. Yesterday you [the media] were all asking about me about the reception he will get here in France and you could see it throughout the game.
"He is very experienced and he was trying to control his emotions but the supporters were pushing him. I believe in him and he is mature but with personality. He is always under his own control."
