(Credit: Imago)

Richie Mills

Tue 21 April 2026 7:10, UK

Emi Martinez‘s importance at Aston Villa cannot be understated despite shipping three goals against Sunderland.

Unai Emery‘s side looked to be cruising to all three points on Sunday when they went 3-1 up at Villa Park, thanks to an Ollie Watkins brace and a Morgan Rogers strike.

But a late comeback from Sunderland almost led to Regis Le Bris’ men taking all three points.

Had it not been for a vital late stop from Martinez, Villa could have slipped to a demoralising defeat, but Tammy Abraham’s 93rd-minute winner secured all three points instead.

Martinez was key to that victory, as Villa strengthened their grip on securing Champions League football next season.

Aston Villa show their resilience

Villa’s recent resurgence continued in a seven-goal thriller in front of their own fans, as they stayed fourth in the Premier League.

Two goals in as many minutes from Sunderland silenced Villa Park late on, before Abraham’s deft finish sent Villa fans home happy.

According to Sofascore, Villa’s standout players were Watkins and Rogers, while none of their defenders registered a score above seven.

Martinez, however, did earn a seven score, as he made four saves from Enzo Le Fee, Diarra, and Brian Brobbey.

For the league season as a whole, he has prevented 3.23 goals and is part of a defence that has the seventh-meanest backline in the division with 41 goals conceded.

Ezri Konsa has been Villa’s most utilised centre-back this season, with Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres, and Victor Lindelof all having spells in the side.

Incidentally, against Sunderland, Villa won their second game of the season despite conceding three times in a match, the other being a 4-3 win at Brighton.

Perhaps Villa need to bring in some defensive reinforcements if they want to tighten up at the back next season, but with Martinez in goal, they have a largely reliable presence in between the sticks.

Aston Villa eye historic end to the season

Villa are now a whopping 10 points clear of Chelsea in sixth, as they look to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The Villans have just five games to go to secure that goal, while they also have a Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest to look forward to.

What will help their cause is that Watkins is back on form for Villa, weeks on from him admitting this has been the toughest season of his career.

If they can lift their first major trophy since the 2001 Intertoto Cup and qualify for Europe’s elite competition, that will be a job very well done for Villa.

Martinez will certainly be key to that.