Aston Villa star Emi Martinez set an unwanted record by becoming the first goalkeeper to let in three own goals in Premier League history during their 3-3 draw against Liverpool.
Martinez dropped a blunder within the opening two minutes at Villa Park. The Argentine could not hold Harvey Elliott's deflected cross, before he parried the ball over his own line and into the back of the net. It was a calamitous mistake from the ex-Arsenal 'keeper despite his best efforts to keep it out.
That was his third own goal in the Premier League, the most ever scored by a goalkeeper in the history of the competition since it was restructured in 1992. Mark Bunn, Petr Cech, Shay Given, Rob Green, Kasper Schmeichel, Russell Hoult, Tom Heaton, Tim Krul, Bernd Leno, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Richard Wright have scored two own goals, with 53 goalkeepers scoring just the one.
Martinez conceded his first own goal when Villa lost 4-2 against Arsenal back in February 2023. Jorginho's long-range strike cannoned off the crossbar before hitting the back of Martinez and dropping over the line.
He then let in his second own goal earlier this season against Luton, as Ezri Konsa headed the ball back to the 'keeper, but it instead looped over his head before coming back off the bar, striking Martinez and going in.
Premier League odds and betting tips
After those, Martinez now has a trio of own goals to his collection following his mistake against Liverpool. When analysing the incident, Gary Neville told Sky Sports: "We said he had a big personality and character, he needed it in that first half to come back from that first goal.
"[Youri] Tielemans gives it away but there is still so much for Liverpool to do. Villa have got their entire back four in place, they have midfield players retreating. They play a lovely little pass down there, it’s a little deflection of Pau Torres which then causes Martinez a problem.
Emi Martinez made a dreadful error to gift Liverpool the lead (Andrew Powell/Getty Images)"It goes through his hands and hits his chest and just makes that second little panic just to hook it back, but he actually pushes it away from himself. It’s agonising."
Despite his error, Martinez was named in Neville's Team of the Year after a fantastic season between the sticks for Villa. He has kept seven clean sheets in the Premier League and was alongside a host of star names, including Arsenal defensive duo William Saliba and Gabriel.
As for Villa, the result leaves them fourth, five points ahead of fifth-place Tottenham in the race for the Champions League. Although Spurs have got a game in hand, which is against Manchester City on Tuesday, Villa are almost there and a point at Crystal Palace on the final day could be enough.
When asked if Villa will be watching Tottenham's game against City, Tielemans said: "For sure. It’s normal I think. We are in that fourth position and we want to keep it. Hopefully it will be all done tomorrow."
and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
