Emi Martinez: 'That messes with your mind' - TNT panel react to Aston Villa keeper's 'gamesmanship' in shoot-out

Emi Martinez was the Villan in every sense of the word following Aston Villa's dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Lille in the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-finals.

The Villans advanced to the last four 4-3 on penalties with the aggregate score level at 2-2 after extra time, but that only told part of the story.

Martinez was booked for time-wasting in the first half, and it looked as though the Argentina international had been given a second yellow card in the penalty shoot-out after gesturing to the Lille fans.

Shocked TNT Sports commentator Paul Dempsey said at the time: "Martinez is getting sent off; he pushed his luck too far.

"He turned around to the crowd again, the referee was waiting for him to do something like that, he tried to tell people in the crowd to stop throwing things.

"Douglas Luiz has gone to get an explanation, but the card has been brandished by the referee again.

"The best of the best he may be, but that is not his finest moment."

The live television pictures showed Douglas Luiz protesting against what he believed to be the sending off of Martinez, but the earlier yellow card had already been wiped out.

As per the International Football Association Board (IFAB) law 10, yellow cards reset before a penalty shoot-out.

The whole incident could diminish Martinez’s popularity in France even further after his similar antics in the 2022 World Cup final, which saw Argentina triumph over Les Bleus in Qatar.

But this was a huge night for The Villans, who advanced to their first continental semi-final since winning the European Cup in 1982.

Unai Emery’s side will face either Fenerbahce or Olympiacos in the last four, as the race to reach the final in Athens on May 24 nears its conclusion.

Martinez was the undoubted star of the show in the shoot-out for Villa.

He dug into his bag of tricks to try and put off the Lille penalty-takers and managed to save two, sending Villa to the semis.

After the match-winning save, the Argentinian did a dance in front of the home fans and then ran almost the whole length of the pitch to celebrate in front of Villa's supporters.

"He loves these moments, he wants to be in the spotlight, he wants to wind people up, he gets under people’s skin," said former Villa defender Alan Hutton on TNT Sports.

"When the Lille players were coming up he was rubbing the ball, flinging it at them, talking to them - you just want to concentrate on hitting your penalty. He was absolutely brilliant. Love it.

"You use everything you can to gain an advantage. He has a big frame to start with, so when you are walking up and get that ball and put it down you are starting to think with the pressure the goal is starting to look smaller and then he’s not giving you the ball, he’s rubbing it, putting it on the spot, getting in your face.

"That messes with your mind and he is No. 1 at doing it, and again he comes up in huge moments."

Former Villa midfielder Steve Sidwell added: "He is a confident person and when it comes to penalties he comes into his own.

"He does a lot of homework, does his gamesmanship. As an outfield player to take a penalty you just want to get up there, grab the ball, take the pen and get back unscathed. You don’t want to be hanging around with the gamesmanship he does."

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