Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was delighted after our win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but insists the focus is already now on winning every game to qualify for the next stage.
Jhon Duran’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 victory over the Bundesliga giants on a raucous night at Villa Park, as we made it consecutive wins after seeing off Young Boys last month.
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It was a memorable night for all concerned as we faced off against Bayern for the first time since our meeting in the European Cup Final in 1982, and it ultimately ended in similar fashion as we marked a wonderful occasion with an important three points.
Speaking after the game, Martinez praised the Villa fans for the atmosphere that they created during the game, and reiterated his love for the club as he relished the feeling of winning one of the biggest games in the club’s recent history.
“It’s unreal to be fair,” he told TNT Sports. “This is the loudest Villa Park that I’ve heard since I joined the club, that’s for sure, it was hurting my ears at some point. It’s a club that is moving forward. It’s the main reason why I stay in this football club. I love playing here, I love the fans, this is a win for them.
“We are committed [more] defensively Champions League, we need to transmit that into the Premier League now, we are conceding some sloppy goals in the Premier League, we need to find that balance, we know we can keep clean sheets so we move on from here.
“It’s a statement, there’s still a lot to play. We want to qualify in the first eight, in the top eight, it’s one step at a time, we’ve got Bologna at home now in our second game, we are probably more relaxed but we want to win every game.”
Having put six points on the board already, Villa have put themselves in a strong position to advance to the knockout stages, but ultimately the message from both Unai Emery and the players after the game was that the objective is to qualify directly through a top-eight finish, as opposed to entering the playoffs, and so there is still plenty of work to do.
Villa host Bologna later this month in our next Champions League outing, but it’s hoped that a win of this magnitude against elite opposition has helped to build confidence and belief in our ability to compete at the top level, and we can hopefully improve on this and continue to grow in the competition.
Martinez’s experience and mentality will be key in that process, as will his quality having played a decisive role in the win this week with a string of brilliant saves to help ensure it was another memorable game and result, but you could certainly see how much it meant to him after the game.
The Villa shot-stopper did make an important point above though, as transferring our defensive form in Europe to the Premier League is now critical given our poor defensive performances domestically, and hopefully we’ll start that improvement this weekend when we host Manchester United in another big clash at Villa Park.
