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Martinez avoids red card, saves penalties to send Villa into semis

football18 April 2024 20:00| © Reuters
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Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saved two spot kicks and survived a bizarre red card incident as his side beat French club Lille on penalties to reach the Europa Conference League semifinals on Thursday.

A chaotic match ended 3-3 on aggregate after Lille's 2-1 victory on the night but the real drama was to come in the shootout with World Cup winner Martinez in the thick of it.

Martinez, who was shown a yellow card during the game, first saved brilliantly to keep out Nabil Bentaleb's effort to give Villa the advantage in the shootout but was warned for his persistent mind games in the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

The Argentine was then shown a second yellow card for his antics and appeared to have been sent off only to be reprieved by the rule which states that yellow cards awarded during regular time are not carried forward to penalty shootouts.

Villa's Leon Bailey then missed his spot kick but Martinez proved the hero as he kept out Benjamin Andre's effort to seal a 4-3 shoot-out win for Unai Emery's side.

Martinez raced the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the ecstatic away fans.

"He is very important for us. He has his personality and his personality in the dressing room is very important because he is a leader with his experiences," Emery said of his keeper.

"He has a really brilliant mentality. And then on the pitch he has his personality and he played fantastic. He saved two penalty shots so of course I am very proud of him. I am very proud of all the players."

It is the first time Villa have reached a European semifinal since 1982.

Lille had led 2-0 with goals by Yusuf Yazici and Andre but Matty Cash's deflected effort in the 87th minute sent the tie into extra time.

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