Emi Martinez turned in a top-class performance for Aston Villa at the Johan Cruyff Arena as they claimed a 0-0 draw with Ajax on Thursday 7 March.
Unai Emery made several changes to his starting line-up for the trip to Amsterdam, with a Europa Conference League quarter-final place up for grabs for the winner of this tie.
And a performance which was clearly not the Villans at their best was there for all to see as they came away with a 0-0 draw to make the second leg at Villa Park next week even more exciting.
But it was some excellent defending that got them the result, with goalkeeper and captain for the night Martinez really showing his quality.
According to Sofascore (7 March), the World Cup winner completed 100% of his runouts (3/3) – clearing the ball while playing as a sweeper keeper to allow the team to play with the high line that the manager loves.
That led to TNT Sports commentator Lucy Ward singing his praises, declaring his starting position as “absolutely perfect” during the live broadcast of the game (7 March, 18:13).
But on top of those crucial interventions, the 31-year-old also made one high claim from a cross, successfully made one interception and one clearance and made a huge save to deny Ajax as they fired an attempt across his goal in the second half
Aston Villa: Is Emi Martinez world class?
There have often been question marks about whether or not a player can be world-class if he isn’t playing his football at the highest level, and Martinez isn’t playing Champions League football.
But there is no doubt that there are very few goalkeepers in world football better than the Argentine, and Aston Villa are very lucky to have him.
He’s an imposing figure in front of his goal, with his presence often causing strikers to lose their nerve when in goalscoring situations. He’s also an excellent penalty-saver and great shot-stopper, with a fantastic ability when it comes to claiming crosses.
According to FBRef, Martinez is in the 97th percentile for crosses stopped and in the 98th percentile of successful defensive actions outside of his penalty area.
He is the epitome of a sweeper keeper and arguably the only world class player in the Aston Villa squad.
Copyright © 2024
Leave a Reply