Unai Emery credits Emiliano Martínez as Aston Villa hold Everton

Unai Emery admitted Aston Villa were indebted to Emiliano Martínez after the goalkeeper’s heroics secured a valuable point against Everton. The Argentine international produced two outstanding saves, one in each half, to help Villa collect their second point of the season.

Martínez’s first crucial intervention came in the opening period when he denied Jack Grealish’s deflected effort inside the penalty area. However, his most impressive stop arrived with just under 20 minutes remaining. Grealish delivered a cross from the left that was met by Michael Keane’s powerful header, but Martínez reacted superbly to tip the ball over the bar.

Reflecting on the performance, Emery said:

“It is a good point. A lot of things were positive. Firstly, the goalkeeper, Martínez, did a fantastic job. He saved us on several occasions. We were disciplined and organised in possession, and we defended well.

“We must improve offensively because we are not scoring goals, but with this point I am happy. We are building the team, gaining confidence and uniting emotionally. This result is important to keep moving forward.

“Everton are performing very well and are clearly improving, while we are working with our circumstances to develop our strengths. Competing in the way we did today shows progress. We analysed our last match and we were not competing as we did today. Our identity was visible on the pitch.”

Defender Ezri Konsa echoed his manager’s sentiments when speaking to Match of the Day:

“It’s a point in the right direction – and keeping a clean sheet was very important for us. We knew how difficult it would be coming here. They had chances, and Emi Martínez made top saves. A point is progress, and we go from there.

“I felt we lacked that final pass and the finishing touch. The forwards are frustrated not to have scored, but they will go back, work hard, and make sure they find the net in the next game.”