Martinez called out after horror incident in Aston Villa quarter-final loss v PSG
Aston Villa had it all to do against PSG, having been 3-1 down after the first leg, but the Ligue 1 giants proved to be too much for Unai Emery’s side.
Aston Villa crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of PSG, who secured a 5-4 win on aggregate.
Everyone associated with Villa will have been aware of the task at hand, and very few will walk away with any shame given the gulf in quality, and perhaps most importantly, finance between the two sides.
However, Emery will not have been pleased with one incident in the game, and nor was Rob Green.
Green slams Emi Martinez for costly Aston Villa error
In the opening stages of the game, Aston Villa started well, and you could sense that the atmosphere was starting to get to those in dark blue, with PSG very rarely making it out of their own half aside from one occasion in the opening 10 minutes.
Given the defeat to PSG in the first leg, a good start was essential for Villa to have any chance of turning it around. However, just seconds after Aston Villa were on the attack, Bradley Barcola spearheaded a counterattack before delivering an inviting cross into the box.
Just as it looked like it was going to be dealt with, Emi Martinez fumbled the ball, pushing it right into the path of Achraf Hakimi, who made no mistake in giving his side the lead, with Green less than impressed at the error.
Commentating via CBS Sports (15 April, 8:13pm), he said: “Martinez, if you come that far, you’ve got to grab it, you’ve got to get hold of it. Pau Torres can deal with it; he waits for his goalkeeper, and he doesn’t deal with it.
“Once he comes flying out like that, he’s gotta be clinical. He wasn’t.”
Given the aggregate scoreline, the error will possibly be labelled as the turning point of the two-legged tie, and it certainly made it much harder for Emery’s side to bounce back.
Premier League success is now essential for Aston Villa
With Champions League success now off the cards, Aston Villa can fully focus on European qualification via the Premier League ahead of the final six games.
| Premier League 3rd-7th | Points |
| Nottingham Forest | 57 |
| Newcastle | 56 |
| Man City | 55 |
| Chelsea | 54 |
| Aston Villa | 54 |
The Villans sit just two points outside of the top four, and just one outside of the top five, which, of course, will be enough to secure Champions League football next time out.
Emery will be hoping that the defeat to PSG doesn’t hurt their mentality, which has been the driving force behind their successes so far this campaign.