Emiliano Martinez's two mistakes both led to goals as Aston Villa suffered a 0-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest in round 11 and missed the chance to enter the top 4 of the Premier League.
At the City Ground, Villa were the better side, controlling 74% of the ball and managing 13 shots with 3 on target - compared to Nottingham Forest's 5 and 3. But on a day when Martinez was not at his best, Aston Villa had to go home empty-handed.
In the 5th minute, from a cross by Harry Toffolo, Ola Aina came up from the second line and finished with a one-touch shot across the corner. The ball did not go hard, but Martinez was slow to dive and did not seem to stretch out fully to save the goal. Thanks to that, Nottingham Forest scored the opening goal in the first five minutes of the Premier League for the fourth time this season - the best statistic in the league.
In the 47th minute, the home team tied the score in a similar manner. Orel Mangala fired a powerful shot from outside the box straight into the middle of the goal. This time, Martinez failed to push the ball well, still letting it fly into the goal. He jumped up to grab the ball, but Goal-line technology confirmed that the ball had crossed the goal line.
Martinez's slow reaction to the ball after it had crossed the line led to the second goal as Aston Villa lost 0-2 at Nottingham Forest in the 11th round of the Premier League on November 5. Photo: AFP
Martinez has conceded two goals from outside the box in a Premier League game for the second time in 120 appearances for Aston Villa, after conceding three from outside the box against Southampton in November 2020.
"Martinez was just honored as the best goalkeeper in the world at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony last week. But the pair of hands that seemed to be the safest in the world made rare mistakes, helping Nottingham Forest win their first match since September 2," commented British newspaper Sunsport .
The Argentine goalkeeper's mistakes prevented Aston Villa from taking advantage of the two clubs above them - Arsenal and Liverpool - stumbling in this round. Unai Emery's team is still in fifth place with 22 points, two points behind Arsenal and Liverpool.
On November 9, Aston Villa returned home to host AZ Alkmaar in the fourth round of Group E of the Europa Conference League and then met Fulham in the 12th round of the Premier League three days later.
Martinez's poor form comes just a week after he was awarded the Yasine award for best goalkeeper at the 2023 Ballon d'Or gala. He currently holds the record for eight consecutive clean sheets, with 712 minutes, for Argentina. German Burgos, who played for Argentina from 1995 to 2002, is second with 606 minutes.
The last time Martinez conceded a goal was in the World Cup final on 18 December 2022, when he was unable to stop Kylian Mbappe from scoring a hat-trick. However, with a save from Kolo Muani in the 120+3 minute and a penalty save, Martinez became the hero of the team. Before that, he also shone in the 2-1 win over Australia in the round of 16 and the 4-3 penalty shootout win over the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
Hong Duy
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