The Aston Villa faithful will already be looking at booking flights to Greece, after their beloved club made it to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
After picking up a 2-1 win at Villa Park in the first leg, Unai Emery’s side travelled to Lille, where they left it until the last minute.
Matty Cash’s 87th-minute goal sent the tie to extra time, where the Villans looked more likely to score.
Their efforts were rewarded in the penalty shootout, but there’s one player who was the real hero, even more so than the penalty hero Emi Martinez.
Emi Martinez’s performance against Lille
The Argentine World Cup winner proved that he’s the man for the big occasion yet again, after almost single-handedly keeping Villa’s one-goal advantage intact in the reverse fixture.
Although the number one wasn’t quite as busy as he was at home last week, he still made two saves, had 87 touches, and made 60 passes over the 120 minutes.
Martinez had absolutely no chance on either of the two goals in the ninety minutes, and he had an utterly flawless performance, which is why Birmingham Live handed him an unbeatable 10/10 rating.
The main reason for such a high score was his heroics in the penalty shootout, saving two penalties and really looking at home in between the sticks; it would usually be described as nerves of steel, but he had no nerves whatsoever.
With all that in mind, it’s difficult to believe someone could have impressed just as much, but a certain Villa ace quietly went under the radar.
Ezri Konsa’s statistics against Lille
Yet again, Ezri Konsa personified class, with another dominant performance in the Villa backline.
The number four has alternated between a right-back role and playing in his usual centre-half position, and last night he starred at the heart of the Villa defence alongside Pau Torres.
The 26-year-old played every single minute of the match, in what was the perfect example of how to perform as a centre-half at the highest level.
However, Birmingham Live only handed Konsa a 7/10 rating for his performance, which is a little harsh, but the statistics from the game really do speak for themselves and prove just how influential the former Brentford ace was.
Tackles
2
Interceptions
1
Clearances
5
Dribbled past
0
Duels won
5/5
Passes completed
97
Touches
116
As you can see, not only does Konsa thrive when undertaking his defensive duties, but he’s absolutely superb on the ball, which enabled the side to not panic, even when two goals down.
Playing against Jonathan David isn’t an easy task for any defender, but Konsa passed the test with flying colours, winning all of his duels, making two tackles, and limiting the Canadian to just 19 touches in 120 minutes of action.
The England international was always one step ahead, often being proactive to sniff out danger quickly, especially from crosses, as he made five clearances.
Furthermore, Konsa was fantastic on the ball, helping the side sustain periods of control, as shown by his 116 touches and 97 passes with an accuracy of 93%.
Overall, it was a spectacular performance from the defender, and in truth, every single Villa player became a hero last night, not just the two mentioned in this article.
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