Emiliano Martinez was not a popular man at the Parc Des Princes as Paris Saint-Germain fans were heard booing him throughout the contest as the hosts beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
The boos did not seem to affect the Aston Villa goalkeeper whatsoever, who pulled out save after save but ultimately, goals from Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes meant PSG came back in style after Morgan Rogers’ initial opener.
Desire Doue played down Martinez’s fear factor and he was public enemy number one because of his antics after Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final. But the former Arsenal shotstopper died his hair blue and white ahead of the contest — embracing his role as one of football’s biggest wind-up merchants.
But as PSG utterly dominated Aston Villa in the Champions League, the French media had their say on Emiliano Martinez’s display in between the sticks.
French media praise Emiliano Martinez’s performance after PSG vs Aston Villa
The French media recognised that Martinez kept Aston Villa in the contest against PSG and rose to the occasion in what was one of Unai Emery’s most significant nights as a manager in the Champions League.
One French media outlet, Maxi Foot gave Martinez a match rating of 5.5/10 as he was Aston Villa’s highest-rated player alongside Morgan Rogers after PSG drew first blood after the first leg in the French capital.
“In a team that was completely dominated, the goalkeeper had a lot of work to do. Despite conceding three goals, he responded on his line with eight saves during this match.”
French media outlet Foot Mercato were more generous and handed Martinez a 6/10 rating while singling out the Aston Villa star’s important saves against PSG.
“With PSG dominating, the world champion goalkeeper was inevitably the most prominent player in the match for the Villan side. Attentive to a crushed attempt by Vitinha (fifth minute), he impressed with a dive behind a shot from Dembele (eighth minute). He came close to letting a crushed shot from Doué slip away, but stopped the ball on his line (39th minute), before being beaten by the same Doué’s shot from the following corner.”
“Caught at the near post on Kvara’s goal (49th minute), he can blame himself even if the Georgian’s shot was very well-placed. At the end of the match, he could do nothing one-on-one with Nuno Mendes.”
Emiliano Martinez stats for Aston Villa vs PSG were incredible
Martinez will be hoping that Aston Villa can stage a comeback for the ages in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against PSG.
The two-time Copa America champion is a serial winner and he will not be giving up despite the nature of the first leg.
Martinez’s stats against PSG showed that he was up for the fight from minute one, justifying why the French media sang his praises.
| SAVES | 8 |
| SAVES INSIDE THE BOX | 3 |
| PUNCHES | 1 |
| THROWS | 5 |
| xGOT FACED | 2.2 |
Martinez made eight saves, including four inside the box while also facing an xGOT (Expected goals on target) of 2.2, with five throws and one punch summing up what was a busy night for him against the Ligue 1 winners.
But the 32-year-old’s efforts were ultimately deemed futile as the Parisians were a class apart on the night.
