Love him or loathe him, Emi Martinez is one of the most watchable players in the Premier League and we will miss him when he is gone.
This is the age of the corporate sports star, who says and does all the right things and earns a fabulous amount of money doing so, but leaves barely a ripple on departure. Martinez, on the other hand, makes waves wherever he goes.
A few seconds in this match summed up Martinez. Having made a tidy save, his superb clearance sent Jadon Sancho racing clear to tee up the winner for John McGinn and send Aston Villa into the Europa League quarter-finals. Substitute Leon Bailey added the second late on.
That was never going to be enough for Martinez. His antics during and after Argentina’s victory in the 2022 World Cup Final against France means he is disliked intensely to this day by the French public. And being the wind-up merchant he is, Martinez gives as good as he gets. Naturally, he taunted the Lille fans as he celebrated.
Whether Martinez will still be at Villa next season is another matter. He was so desperate to join Atletico Madrid or Manchester United last summer that his actions raised eyebrows among team-mates.
He has since lost the vice-captaincy to Ezri Konsa and at times this season, he and the club have resembled a couple who have had a huge row but resolved to carry on as if nothing has happened. At least for now.
Love him or hate him, Emi Martinez is one of the most watchable players in the Premier League
As well as keeping a clean sheet the Argentina shot-stopper teed up John McGinn’s opener
Whoever signs Martinez will take a good deal of baggage from Villa’s hands – but they will also have a proven winner. Before he tries to lift the World Cup again, Martinez would love to win a first trophy with Villa, and boss Unai Emery shares that fierce ambition.
When he was introduced as Villa boss in autumn 2022, Emery set himself the target of a trophy. Villa have not won one since 1996 but now they are a step closer. Emery has won this competition four times and the added prize of Champions League football next season could not be more alluring.
Emery left out the misfiring Ollie Watkins, whose form means he faces an uphill struggle to retain his spot in the England squad ahead of the World Cup. Tammy Abraham, another with fading international ambitions, was chosen in his place.
Watkins had scored the only goal in last week’s first leg in France and it is likely he will be restored at home to West Ham on Sunday. Yet he is no longer the barnstorming forward of previous seasons and Emery’s team selection reflected that.
The first leg was a drab affair and the opening 45 minutes here were similarly cautious. Before the game, fans held up signs celebrating Emery’s 100 wins as Villa boss, after he reached his century in Lille last week.
Long before the interval, many had fashioned them into paper aeroplanes and hurled them towards the pitch. Yes, it was a thriller, all right. Desperate to generate the revenue that will help them compete with the wealthy elite, Villa hope big European nights mean big corporate ticket packages. Not based on games like these, they won’t.
Villa had tried to force the issue in the opening minutes. Sancho ran behind the Lille back five and found Douglas Luiz on the edge of the box. The Brazilian midfielder’s shot was blocked by Alexsandro and the ball rebounded off McGinn for a goal-kick.
Villa’s most effective route to goal went via Morgan Rogers, who was dropping deep and trying to release Sancho and Abraham. The visitors offered so little in attack that Villa may have grown complacent, and they were lucky that the unmarked Ayyoub Bouaddi could not keep his header on target when he aimed for goal midway through the half.
Villa came close to taking the lead just before half-time. Amadou Onana climbed well to meet McGinn’s corner and when Berke Ozer pushed it away, Sancho could not adjust his feet quickly enough to convert the loose ball.
Villa moved ahead when Martinez saved Nabil Bentaleb’s free-kick and his superb volleyed ‘sidewinder’ clearance fell perfectly into the path of Sancho. The winger tricked his way past Felix Correia and squared for McGinn, who did the rest from 10 yards.
Over to Martinez. The Argentina goalkeeper pranced towards the halfway line like an over-excited pony, celebrating extravagantly with his team-mates. And as he ran back to his goal, Martinez waved his hand provocatively in the direction of the Lille supporters. Of course he did.
Watkins had replaced Abraham and put a 20-yard effort just wide while Sancho hit the post from an angle before Bailey tapped in the second from Watkins’ pass. By then, Martinez had made his mark and as long as his mind is trained completely on the job at hand, he is a powerful force – as Villa’s forthcoming European opponents may be about to find out.
