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Aston Villa fans were propelled into dreamland on Wednesday night after clinching a mammoth 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

It was a memorable night that saw Unai Emery serve up a masterclass in tactics and substitutions as Aston Villa perfectly executed their game plan.

The Villans sat back in their solid shape and when given the chance, Emery’s men exploited the space Bayern left behind on the counter, with Ollie Watkins running Dayot Upamecano ragged.

Jhon Duran then assumed that responsibility after replacing Watkins in the 70th minute and he scored a wonderful goal as he lobbed the great Manuel Neuer.

Duran’s latest exceptional contribution from the bench saw him instantly steal the headlines and rightly so however, there was another player who deserved just as much, if not more praise.

Emi Martinez showed why he’s the world’s best after display vs Bayern Munich

For Villa to soak up the pressure and attacks Bayern launched on their goal, they needed their goalkeeper Emi Martinez to perform at his best.

In the draw against Ipswich Town, Alan Smith labelled Martinez as ‘world-class’ and the Argentine exceeded that praise in Wednesday’s win.

The 32-year-old produced countless world-class stops, most notably plucking Serge Gnabry’s curling effort from the top corner in the first half and saving Harry Kane’s point blank header in the final minute.

Kane said after the game that his side could have played all night and they still wouldn’t have found a way past him; that was just how exceptional he was.

Gary Lineker was also full of praise for Martinez after the game and he called him one of the ‘great’ goalkeepers in world football after his ‘brilliant’ display.

“It was a brilliant effort. I mean, I know Martinez has made other saves in the game, but the one on the end, I mean, he has become one of the great goalkeepers in world football,” Lineker said on the Rest Is Football podcast.

“I mean, we know we talk about the shithousery, and he’s the master of that, and I find it fun, but his actual goalkeeping, I mean, it’s very, very rare that he makes a mistake.

“He’s a hell of a presence one on one, as he’s shown on lots of occasions. And he’s just an all-round brilliant goalkeeper, I think.”

Martinez is the best in the world

The debate involving the best goalkeepers in the world should have ended a long time ago as Martinez is by far and away the greatest on the planet.

Martinez – who Villa signed from Arsenal for £17m in 2020 – is one of a select few shot-stoppers who can pull off that performance on the biggest stage.

After all, he is a World Cup and Copa America winner with his country, so he’s used to turning in big displays under high pressure, and this was his latest.

Four years ago it would have seemed unthinkable to have Martinez among the conversations involving the world’s best.

However, the experienced goalkeeper has cemented his place at the top, and no one can do anything about it.

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