Emiliano Martinez thrills Aston Villa boss Unai Emery with winner’s mentality for Argentina
Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez was one of Argentina’s best players and kept a clean sheet in their Copa America final victory over Colombia.
Martinez refused to be beaten over 120 minutes at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, facing a barrage of Colombian shots before his namesake Lautaro won the game for the Albiceleste eight minutes from the end of extra time.
The Villans shot-stopper fielded a total of 19 shots across the two hours as a game with chances aplenty went to extra time, but just as was the case in the World Cup final, Argentina found a way to win it.
The 31-year-old will now return to Villa Park having won three straight international tournaments and that winner’s mentality will thrill Unai Emery as Villa prepare for a Champions League campaign.
Aston Villa star Emi Martinez excellent again in Argentina victory
Of Colombia’s 19 efforts across the 120 minutes in Miami – out-shooting Argentina by eight attempts – only four were on target, but Martinez kept everything at bay with four crucial saves in total.
According to FotMob, Colombia generated a total of 0.45 expected goals-on-target (xGOT), 100 per cent of which was prevented by Martinez and contributed towards an 8.3 rating, the best of the match.
One of these four saves came from close range as Colombia piled on the pressure as Martinez was kept busy in his box, taking five high claims from crosses and also making a whopping 17 ball recoveries.
Taking on a similar sweeper-keeper role to which he does at Villa Park, Martinez also launched 13 throws forward to get his side on the front foot, although of his 18 attempted long balls, only five found their intended targets (28 per cent).
With the ball at his feet, Martinez had 55 touches in total and maintained a solid 61 per cent passing accuracy, completing 20 of his 33 attempted passes both short and long across the 120 minutes.
Keeping back-to-back clean sheets in successive Copa America finals is good news for Martinez and even better news for Emery, who can now call upon a goalkeeper who has won the last three international tournaments on the bounce and has legitimate claims to be the best keeper in the world right now.
Martinez’s Copa America record for the Albiceleste saw him face 14 shots on target, making 13 saves and conceding just a single goal throughout the competition, preventing an overall xGOT of 2.72.
Martinez now returns to Villa Park ahead of one of the most exciting seasons in the club’s recent history, and having proven his mettle time and time again on the international stage, the Villa goalkeeper will certainly be of help as they go continental.
In other Aston Villa news, West Brom have been called the Villans’ ‘feeder club’ after the latest academy deal.
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