Aston Villa saw their Champions League hopes taken out of their hands on Monday night against Liverpool, in a game that saw Emi Martinez steal the headlines.
It was a night that many hoped would confirm Champions League football for Aston Villa however, the Villans’ destiny is now momentarily out of their hands.
Unai Emery watched his side draw 3-3 to Liverpool in the penultimate game of the Premier League season, giving Spurs control in the race for the top four.
Jhon Duran will earn high praise for turning the game on its head when all hope looked to be lost for Villa, scoring two goals in three minutes to earn his side a point.
The game started horrendously for the hosts and particularly Emi Martinez, as the Argentine spilled the ball into his own net after just two minutes played.
It was a moment of madness from the Midlands club’s prized possession and an error that generated a host of attention for the wrong reasons.
Emi Martinez set a Premier League record with error against Liverpool
A figure as entertaining as Martinez is never far from the spotlight and the same applied during Villa’s draw with Liverpool.
The World Cup winners’ spill to open the scoring not only saw him left blushing but also saw the former Arsenal ‘keeper set an unwanted Premier League record.
By scoring the own goal, the Villa shot-stopper became the first goalkeeper in Premier League history to score three own goals, a statistic that no one would have wanted to take control of.
Journalist Matt Maher branded the mistake as the ‘howler of the season’, in what was a moment for Martinez to firmly forget when looking back at his key moments from this campaign.
A moment of madness from Emi Martinez
It was an extremely rare sight to see Martinez make such a blunder, with the Argentine being Villa’s backbone for the majority of this campaign.
The 31-year-old was met with chants from the home supporters of ‘the world’s number one’ after his mistake, telling of how valued he is at Villa Park.
Martinez will be thankful for Duran’s cameo which saved Villa from defeat when all hope looked to be lost at 3-1 down.
Fortunately, the error of the Villa ‘keeper can be somewhat forgotten thanks to the late drama at Villa Park although, his new record will follow him.
With one game remaining of this sensational campaign for Aston Villa, the Argentine will be desperate to redeem himself on the final day against Crystal Palace.
