On Saturday, 14 minutes into the second half in the clash against Nottingham Forest, time seemed to be suspended for Aston Villa goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez.
When a header from Nicolás Domínguez of Spain went past him, Martínez jumped back, put out a hand and somehow managed to push the ball away, stopping the goal just inches from the line.
Emi Martinez with one of the best saves I’ve ever seen in my life
— 𝚘𝚑𝚒𝚘’𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗 (@OHsVeryOwn)
According to former Welsh defender Ashley Williams, a commentator on the show Match of the Day and BBCwas simply “the best defense I’ve ever seen.”
“He is very intelligent, he understands where he is and what he needs to do. He has his back to the ball,” Williams added.
Other experts and players also praised it. England goalkeeper Mary Earps called the save “absolutely surreal” on Instagram, while the Premier League called it “world class.”
Jamie Redknapp, former player of , said on Sky Sports that I couldn’t “think of a better defense in my entire life.”
“It’s almost like magic, a sleight of hand. It’s truly sensational,” added Redknapp.
However, Martínez’s heroics were in vain, overcome by a reaction from Forest towards the end of the match. Villa had opened the scoring with Jhon Durán three minutes after the Argentine goalkeeper’s brilliant save.
Unai Emery’s team defended that lead for most of the rest of the game until Nikola Milenković headed home in the 42nd minute. Forest secured victory five minutes later in stoppage time when Anthony Elanga pushed the ball home.
With this victory, Forest moved up to fourth in the Premier League table, while Villa remained in sixth place.
