Argentina goalkeeper saved spot-kicks as he taunted a jeering crowd in France
The Argentina goalkeeper, who helped his country win the World Cup 18 months ago, produced some similar heroics in France, saving spot-kicks from Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Andre to earn a 4-3 shootout win after the quarter-final had ended 3-3 on aggregate after two legs.
They were not deserving of victory, though, as they were outplayed for the majority of the second leg in France, with goals from Yusuf Yazici and Andre overturning a 2-1 first-leg advantage. While Villa were executing one of their best performances of the season in the 2-0 win at Arsenal on Sunday, Lille had the weekend off, with Ligue 1 cancelling their fixture so they could focus on this match.
Villa needed Martinez to deny Lille a second as the goalkeeper, who made a string of saves in last week’s first leg, bravely blocked Andre’s header from point-blank range, with the Lille captain heading another set-piece wide. That gave false hope and the hosts scored a second in the 68th minute as Andre flicked Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s corner in off the crossbar and post.
The goalkeeper dropped Ollie Watkins’ cross and the ball fell to Cash, whose effort from the edge of the area deflected in.
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