Aston Villa recorded a stunning 3-2 win over RB Leipzig on Tuesday night in the Champions League.
Marco Rose’s RB Leipzig had lost all their games heading into this match, despite being a Pot 1 team when this revamped Champions League format was made and it showed throughout the match.
It can’t be argued that Aston Villa deserved the three points, but one thing is for sure, they didn’t make it easy for themselves.
John McGinn opened the scoring inside three minutes and they were dominating proceedings, but then there was a horror moment.
A simple punt ball over the top should have been dealt with, but despite Emi Martinez coming off his line and being on the edge of his box, he didn’t make contact with the ball and Lois Openda put the ball into an empty net.
Unai Emery then made a half-time change by bringing on Jhon Duran for Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa’s super sub netted another sublime goal, before the home side equalised again.
But then Villa got their luck when Ross Barkley scored a deflected winner to seal the points towards the end and increase their chances of securing a top-eight finish in the Champions League.
Alan Shearer critical of Emi Martinez’s role in RB Leipzig’s goal against Aston Villa
Villa have only kept two clean sheets in the Premier League this season and they showed why with that equalising goal.
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The backline and the goalkeeper are making far too many errors and allowing too many simple goals to go in.
Just before Leipzig’s equalising goal, Alan Shearer was singing Villa’s praises and stated they were looking ‘comfortable’, before he had to quickly change his mind, as he told BBC Sport.
And he was right in what he had to say about Martinez because it was an ‘awful error’, which in the end, didn’t prove to be costly.
“I spoke too soon saying they were comfortable,” said Shearer. “What are they doing? Martinez comes out of his box and thinks the bounce will come to him but it never does. Awful error.”
Lois Openda of RB Leipzig scores his team's first goal Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 m...
Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Ex-Premier League goalkeeper reacts to Martinez’s actions v Leipzig
Martinez was the hero for Villa against Juventus when he produced an outstanding match-saving save, but he was getting the opposite treatment here in Germany.
Former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson is in no doubt that the 2022 World Cup winning star is ‘world-class’.
But he feels Martinez got it ‘completely wrong’ when he decided to rush outside of his box, as he also added on BBC Sport.
“Emi Martinez is a world-class goalkeeper but he gets that completely wrong,” said Robinson.
“He stands at the edge of the box, he comes, he stops and in the hesitation between him and Pau Torres, Openda just nips in between the two of them.”
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