Emiliano Martinez helps extend sublime Argentina record after what Aston Villa star did last night
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez helped Argentina continue their stunning run of form on the international stage.
The shot-stopper played the entire 90 minutes as his nation won their CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifying match with Peru 2-0 on Tuesday (17 October).
Unsurprisingly, star man Lionel Messi was once again the hero of the night, with the legendary forward scoring both goals of the match.
But Martinez also played a key role, with the Villa ace securing a 25th clean sheet for his country, coming in just 34 matches, as per Aston Villa Statto (18 October).
With that shutout, he is now just the second Argentina goalkeeper to keep 25 clean sheets, while he also helped extend the country’s record of not conceding a single goal in 716 minutes of play.
Perhaps to the relief of Villa manager Unai Emery, his goalkeeper didn’t have much to do on the night in terms of keeping out the opposition, with Martinez not making any saves, run outs or high claims [Sofascore].
In stark contrast, Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was forced into four saves and one run out, in which he was successful.
Martinez did, however, have to keep possession of the ball as best as he could, with the goalkeeper completing 20 of his 24 passes at a success rate of 83%.
He completed five of his nine attempted long passes, losing possession of the ball four times, with his kicking an area that Emery may just look to improve in the coming months.
However, the manager will largely be focusing on short passes, and what’s more, he will more often than not be relying on his outfield players to keep the ball, as opposed to his goalkeeper.
Martinez also kept a clean sheet as Argentina defeated Paraguay 1-0 in their other match during the international break.
The Villa ace was busier in that match on Friday (13 October), making one save while boasting an 87% passing accuracy [Sofascore]. He again lost possession of the ball on four occasions, having completed three of his seven attempted long passes.
In other Aston Villa news, Emery has Jamie Vardy 2.0 sat right under his nose as one Villa youngster makes waves.