Martinez’s Villa howler days after Ballon d’Or award has fans say ‘give it back’

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    Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez gifted Nottingham Forest a second goal in the Premier League game at the City Ground on Sunday.

    Villa entered the weekend off the back of five Premier League wins in six games – but found themselves a goal down just five minutes in when Ola Aina gave the hosts the lead.

    And the second half started in the same vein as the first for Unai Emery’s side as a Martinez howler saw Orel Mangala double Forest’s advantage just two minutes after the restart.

    A shot from further than 25 yards out from Mangala seemed to make for a comfortable save for the keeper, who was awarded the Yashin Trophy and came in 15th place in the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

    But the Argentine didn’t get a strong enough hand behind the shot and was only able to deflect the effort up into the air before it bounced and dropped over the goal line.

    Martinez instinctively attempted to scramble the ball back into play but goal line technology eventually awarded the goal decision.

    The World Cup winner’s error saw fans on social media wondering how he was awarded the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper of 2023. One comment on Twitter said: “And this guy won the Yashin Trophy…”

    A second sarcastically wrote: “Best keeper in the world right there”. While a third added: “Expose that fraud of a keeper.”

    Mangala’s strike proved to be the final goal of the afternoon as Villa were unable to break past the staunch Forest backline.

    Emery’s side missed the chance to climb as high as 3rd place in the league. While Forest picked up their first league win since they beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on September, 2 – moving eight points clear of the relegation zone.

    More to follow.

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    • Premier League
    • Unai Emery
    • Aston Villa FC
    • Nottingham Forest FC
    • Twitter
    • Footballblog

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