Aston Villa hero steps up again but late VAR heartbreak denies famous Juventus win
ASTON VILLA 0-0 JUVENTUS: Unai Emery saw his denied a late win over Juventus by VAR, but they had Emiliano Martinez to thank for keeping them alive at Villa Park
by Neil Moxley · The MirrorThere was a lot of pomp and circumstance at Villa Park when Emi Martinez signed his new long-term deal this summer.
The club’s megastore was commandeered, his family was flown in and a variety of video footage was played to an adoring holiday crowd invited in to witness the event.
Last night, he proved what all the fuss was about.
Goalkeepers, just like strikers, can have decisive effects on football matches. And so it proved as Martinez, who became the first ever to win the Lev Yashin trophy two times in succession last month, undoubtedly kept Villa’s Champions League bandwaggon trundling onwards.
After three straight wins in the competition, the handbrake was applied during a controversial evening in Bruges earlier this month.
But, since then, Villa have spluttered along.
As they toiled to break down a slick and well-organised Juventus side, who always looked capable of providing a rapier thrust, Martinez - as he has done so often - came to the fore.
It was as the game was entering its final quarter that Villa’s No.1 proved his worth. Teun Koopmeiners swung in a right-wing corner. It missed all the big men jostling in the area, bounced, and ended up with Conceicao at the far post. The little winger was just five yards out and did everything by the textbook. His header was powered downwards. But the Argentine dived backwards to his right and managed to palm the ball clear.
The replay brought a gasp fron the sell-out crowd and goalline technology showed that he had stopped the whole of the ball from crossing the line by millimetres.
Just moments later, the value of that was almost seen when Leon Bailey broke down the right and pulled the ball back for John McGinn to sidefoot goalwards.
The Scot must have thought he had opened the scoring but visiting skipper Manuel Locatelli was on hand to clear. And yes, there will be much chatter in the final reckoning about the decision late on that Villa will feel has cost them victory.
But Diego Carlos’s challenge on Juve’s keeper Michele Di Gregorio as Youri Tielemans pumped the ball into the box late on did make contact before Morgan Rogers slipped the ball into an unguarded net.
And, these days, that interference, however small, is sufficient to see goals such as the one Villa believed they had scored, ruled out. It was a shame for the Holte End and for Emery who is still trying to find a victory. It’s now seven attempts in all competitions.
But, in truth, this was a fair reflection of a tight game. The opening half was a cagey affair. It wasn’t until eight minutes before the interval that either keeper had a shot to save.
Boubacar Kamara, surprisingly making a start, fed Lucas Digne inside the area who found Ollie Watkins. Di Gregorio beat his shot away.
At the other end of the pitch, the smallest player out there - Conceicao - carried the biggest threat. Operating on the break, the winger cut in but couldn’t beat Martinez at his near post.
The half ended with the closest either came to breaking the deadlock. Digne lifted a 22-yard free-kick over the defensive wall, only to see it clip the top of the crossbar.
Neither team created much of note until Martinez stopped Conceicao - and Juve - in their tracks.
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