Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez breaks silence on infamous penalty antics against Man United last season

The secrets of Emiliano Martinez's success in preventing penalty kicks have been recently revealed by the expert in saving them.

The goalkeeper of Aston Villa has gained a reputation for being proficient at shootouts because of his significant saves during Argentina's World Cup and Copa America runs. 

During an episode of Behind The Game, Martinez was asked to provide commentary on a specific incident that occurred during a match between Aston Villa and Manchester United in 2021.

According to Martinez's revelation on Behind The Game, he was taken aback that Bruno Fernandes was designated to take the penalty instead of Cristiano Ronaldo. He then made the decision to use this to his advantage.

"I saw Ronaldo disappointed for not taking it, and I thought there is tension here. I said 'come on, you take it now. He (Ronaldo) doesn't want to shoot. I said to Cavani 'Why is Ronaldo not shooting?'"

"It's not even trash-talk. I create chaos. It was the 92nd minute of the game, I have to distract him in some way because they've got everything to win," Martinez said.

"Bruno, he didn't miss a pen for 25 pens or something. I asked Messi and he said when you move all around the place like that, they don't like it. I was dancing not because I want to dance. I never practised that. I don't know how to do it now, that just came out in the moment."

"The strikers they said 'we pick a spot', and the quality they've got they can put the ball in the spot. So if you're moving around so you create chaos, actually we see different spots. Messi said that to me. So it's harder. When you don't move, pick a spot, that's it."

Fernandes was unable to score from his penalty kick at the Theatre of Dreams, resulting in a memorable victory for Villa as the ball soared above the crossbar.

Who could forget @emimartinezz1's antics when Bruno Fernandes missed this penalty? 😂

But did you know it was inspired by a conversation with Lionel Messi...?!

Episode 3 of #BehindTheGame is out now! 🍿@BudFootball | 🔗 https://t.co/1sg2hpxdKW pic.twitter.com/D9wTNGxeB9

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 26, 2023