A shrewd move by Emiliano Martínez helped Aston Villa in the saddle on Sunday in the 3-1 win against Manchester United. Images have surfaced on Twitter of the Argentine goalkeeper putting down his team’s wall, ahead of Lucas Digne’s 2-0. As a result, United goalkeeper David de Gea barely had a view of the Frenchman’s free kick.
After Leon Bailey gave Aston Villa the lead after seven minutes on Sunday, Luke Shaw conceded a free kick on the edge of the box. Digne went behind the ball, while Martínez sprinted far over the center line. From there, the goalie instructed how the Villans could best obstruct De Gea’s view. Digne then scored beautifully for the 2-0..
{embe}
Emi Martínez lined up Villa’s wall to block David de Gea’s vision for Lucas Digne’s free kick goal ????
(through @VillansTogether) pic.twitter.com/g5eWOAhVBU
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) Nov 6, 2022
In the end, an own and a ‘normal’ goal by Jacob Ramsey resulted in a 3-1 final result at Villa Park. With that, Unai Emery experienced an unforgettable debut as coach of the club from Birmingham. It was Aston Villa’s first home win against Manchester United in 27 years. As a result, Emery and co climbed to thirteenth place in the Premier League.
United coach Erik ten Hag and his tactical choices had to pay a lot after the game. The Manchester Evening News wrote, among other things, that Ten Hag was probably the only manager on earth who could have thought of starting Donny van de Beek. The former Ajax player, who was allowed to start in the base for the second time in a row at the Red Devils, was awarded a 3 for his ‘anonymous’ performance. Despite the defeat, Manchester United retained fifth place in the Premier League.