Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez suspended from Europa Conference League semi-final first leg

Martinez accumulated two yellow cards in the last match

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez will miss the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final encounter due to a suspension. The Argentinian picked up two yellow cards in the penalty shootout win over Lille in the last-8, and will miss their first clash to Olympiacos in the next round.

The Villans prevailed 4-3 on penalties over Lille to reach here after the sides finished level at 3-3 on aggregate. Unai Emery’s side won the first leg 2-1 at home, but the Mastiffs exacted revenge in the return with a victory by the same margin, and the match went into shootouts.

Martinez, who is no stranger to penalty shootouts having won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina by that in the finals, saved twice, keeping out Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Andre to send Villa through.

However, after the end of the match, the former Arsenal goalkeeper was shown a second yellow, but not sent off due to UEFA rules. Martinez was booked earlier in normal time after 39 minutes into the kick-off.

His suspension means Emery will have to make a change in goal, with Robin Olsen likely to take his place between the sticks for their first leg encounter on 2 May at the Villa Park. Martinez will return for the second leg and should take his position in goal, regardless of the score in the tie.

Aston Villa in European semis after 21 years

Aston Villa have managed to reach the semi-final of a European competition for the first time since 2003, when they made it to the last-four of the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Unai Emery has clearly worked his magic again, with the Spaniard boasting an incredible record in these competitions. He guided Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League titles, before repeating the trick with Villarreal in 2021. He had also guided Arsenal to the Europa League final in 2019, but lost to Chelsea. How about lifting the Europa Conference League now?

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