Aston Villa star Emi Martinez must be wary of Fulham ace Raul Jimenez after what happened in Mexico
Aston Villa star Emi Martinez must be wary of Fulham ace Raul Jimenez after he scored a free kick for Mexico in their against the USA on Wednesday 16 October.
El Tri secured a 2-0 win against Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the Mexican state of Jalisco with the Fulham forward scoring the opening goal of the clash.
This stands the 33-year-old in good stead as Marco Silva’s side prepares to welcome the Villans to West London in the Premier League on Saturday 19 October.
Ahead of the clash at Craven Cottage, the Villa goalkeeper will have to be wary of the home side’s striker after what he did for Mexico.
Emi Martinez must be wary of Raul Jimenez for Aston Villa v Fulham
The former Wolves striker has struggled over recent years for goalscoring form but after a goal against Manchester City last time out, he has followed that up with a top-class set-piece strike on international duty.
Jimenez took aim from a long way out and faced a four-man wall between himself and Matt Turner in goal for USMNT.
The Fulham ace wrapped his effort around the wall and into the top corner which left the ex-Arsenal shot-stopper with no chance of saving it, despite his best efforts.
After seeing this, Martinez needs to be wary of the Mexico international’s deadball ability in the Villans’ clash at Craven Cottage.
This comes after nearly conceding last time out against Manchester United as Bruno Fernandes cannoned a free kick off the crossbar.
The Argentina international still had a positive afternoon at Villa Park against the Red Devils as he made four saves, keeping a clean sheet despite facing 0.97 expected goals [FotMob].
Villa’s number 23 was also proactive without the ball as he completed 24 passes with a 75 per cent pass accuracy after having 40 touches throughout.
Defensively, the 32-year-old helped out his backline as he completed one high claim and eight recoveries throughout.
Looking ahead to a trip to the capital, Martinez must carry this performance with him but just consider Jimenez’s usefulness from range.
In other Aston Villa news, one dud struggled once again in yet another shocker on the international stage.
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