Three Emi Martinez moments at Aston Villa that show he’s worthy of top Ballon d’Or recognition
Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez is in the running for the Yashin Trophy award once again at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The Argentina international has been consistently excellent for the Villans, something which sparked interest from Manchester United in Martinez.
This saw Martinez make contact with Man United stars to help force through a move away from Villa Park on transfer deadline day.
Ultimately, this deal never went through with Martinez and Unai Emery seemingly holding talks at Villa before his return to the starting line-up for the B6 club.
As a result, the claret and blue faithful will be backing Martinez to do well at the Ballon d’Or ceremony as Villa News rounds up three of his best moments in the past 12 months.
Emi Martinez returned to action superbly vs Everton
There was plenty of resentment among the Villa fanbase when the 33-year-old looked to force through a move away to Old Trafford in the summer.
With that being said, Martinez’s stunning performance against Everton has gone some way to helping mend that strained relationship with fans and Emery.
The Argentine made a series of stunning saves, including a stunning stop against Michael Keane, and went on to keep a clean sheet away at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Although this may not prove to be the most memorable game that the keeper has ever played, it is certainly proof of what sort of impact he can make in between the sticks.
Emi Martinez was amazing as Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich
From a boring affair on Merseyside to arguably the greatest memory that many supporters will have in recent years following the Villa.
The first home Champions League clash came against Bayern Munich, as a Jhon Duran lob over Manuel Neuer proved to be the difference.
With that being said, it would have been a completely different evening if it weren’t for the greatness of Martinez against elite opposition.
| Stat vs Bayern Munich | Emi Martinez |
| Saves | 7 |
| Goals prevented | 1.41 |
| Accurate passes | 22 |
| High claims | 2 |
| Ground duels win rate (%) | 100% |
His save from a curling Michael Olise effort was superb and was just the tip of the iceberg after a superb showing in Europe’s elite competition.
Emi Martinez made the best save I’ve ever seen vs Nottingham Forest
Although Villa might have fallen to defeat against Forest back in December after a 93rd-minute Anthony Elanga winner, but Martinez was still electric.
After Morgan Gibbs-White flicked on a corner at the near post, it felt inevitable that a home player would be there to tap home at the far.
Nicolas Dominguez’s header looked destined for the net, that was until Martinez managed to do a scooped save on the turn, while on his goal line, to somehow keep it out.
Any sort of description in words fails to justify just how magical this moment was, proving what sort of keeper the Villans have on their hands.
If the Yashin Trophy is based on individual moments of quality, there is no doubt that the Argentine would win the award for the showcase at the City Ground.
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