Emiliano Martinez continued his brilliance in the penalty shootout, this time in the shirt of his club Aston Villa in the European Conference League competition.
Aston Villa met with Lille at the latter’s stadium in the second leg of the European Conference League quarter-finals, where regular and extra time ended with the same result as the first leg, 2-1.
The two teams decided on penalty kicks, and the French fans attacked Martinez beforehand, considering that he was Argentina’s goalkeeper in the 2022 World Cup final against France.
But things did not go ideal for the French once again against the Argentine goalkeeper, as Martinez saved two penalty kicks that sealed the qualification for coach Unai Emery’s squad.
In a strange incident, Martinez received a yellow card, his second in the match overall, after blocking Nabil Bentaleb’s kick and provoking the French fans. However, he was not expelled because FIFA regulations make a yellow card for penalty kicks the first, regardless of what happened before it in the match.
After blocking the decisive kick, Martinez looked at the stands crowded with the French and danced in front of them in his usual provocative manner, in a new victory for him over the country of Kylian Mbappe.
Aston Villa is scheduled to meet the winner of the Olympiacos and Fenerbahce match in the semi-finals, while Fiorentina will face Club Brugge in the other semi-final.
