Lee Hendrie was wowed by an “unbelievable” moment from an Aston Villa player during the 2-1 loss to Lille on Thursday evening.
Despite the loss, Unai Emery’s side booked their place in the last four of the Europa Conference League after Emi Martinez’s penalty heroics in northern France.
Goals from Yusuf Yazıcı and Benjamin Andre had put Paulo Fonseca’s side on the brink of qualification before Matty Cash sent the pulsating tie into extra time.
After 30 minutes of extra time, Martinez saved two spot kicks to send the visitors through the last four.
Emery’s men were severely under the cosh during the first half. Per FotMob, Lille managed five efforts on goal with two on target.
Aston Villa could have no complaints about heading in on goal down.
What did Lee Hendrie say about ‘unbelievable’ moment from Aston Villa star
Unsurprisingly, the Villans had Martinez to thank during the first period.
Had the Argentine had an off day, there’s no doubt the visitors would’ve headed in facing a serious uphill battle.
Speaking on Sky Sports commentary, Hendrie was full of praise for the £20million man after a point-blank first-half stop to deny the hosts.
“Villa are hanging on, to be quite honest. It was an unbelievable save from Martinez,” he said.
“Villa has been nowhere near the opponents’ half, which speaks volumes about where the game is at the moment. They’ve not offered enough going forward.”
Aston Villa win whilst not at their best
Emery will be delighted with how his side managed to get the job done on Thursday evening.
Villa were nowhere near the levels they set against Arsenal on Sunday. At times, Fonseca’s men looked far too sharp. However, as all good teams do, the Premier League giants found a way to win.
Having players like Martinez massively helps. The 31-year-old is the definition of big game player. He steps up in the key moments and can win a game on his own.
As soon as the game went to penalties, the away side would’ve fancied their chances of getting the job done purely down to Martinez’s presence.
The post 'Unbelievable': Lee Hendrie wowed by what £20m Aston Villa star did against Lille tonight appeared first on Aston Villa News.