Aston Villa’s hero Emi Martinez has sent a message to the fans after his heroic display against Lille saw them progress into the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
There were incredible scenes on Thursday night as Unai Emery’s side overcame the odds to knock Lille out of the Europa Conference League.
Villa found themselves 2-0 down just after the hour mark and looked set to crash out 4-3 in the tie. However, a late Matty Cash goal forced the tie to extra time before penalties.
This gave Emi Martinez the opportunity to shine which he took with open arms. The goalkeeper saved the first before appearing to be sent off for a second yellow if not for a bizarre unknown rule. The ‘keeper then saved another vital penalty to send Villa through.
Now, their hero has sent his fans a message after the dramatic penalty victory.
Emi Martinez aiming to go ‘all the way’ in the Europa Conference League
Martinez was already a fan favourite at Villa but now he has cemented himself as a legend.
Villa now holds a real possibility of lifting their first major trophy since the 1990s as they approach the semi-finals.
After the game, Martinez sent an encouraging message to the fans as they overcame their latest hurdle.
Aston Villa posted a video of Martinez on their social media saying: “Let’s go! Let’s go all of the way now!”
The goalkeeper then proceeded to post a picture of him shushing the Lille crowd on X, formerly Twitter, to rub the victory in even more.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Emi Martinez.
Europa Conference League in Aston Villa’s hands
Despite many first-teamer’s sub-par performances on Thursday night, Martinez stepped up to see Villa into the next round.
There can be no excuses now for the Birmingham outfit. They have the momentum and are the strongest side left in the competition.
There are still some tricky obstacles to overcome. Olympiakos will be no easy test with Italian side Fiorentina likely to reach the final over Club Brugge.
However, Villa have overcome far more difficult tasks this season. If they keep their cool, they will lift the trophy in Athens at the end of the season.
