Emi Martinez made sure to remind Paris Saint-Germain fans of his heroics in the 2022 World Cup final prior to their meeting with Aston Villa last week. However, the Champions League quarter-final tie is rapidly turning into one he will want to forget.
The Villa shot-stopper, unpopular in France having performed superbly in the penalty shootout to help Argentina deny Les Bleus a second successive World Cup triumph, provoked the ire of PSG supporters by arriving at last Wednesday’s first leg at the Parc des Princes in a hat commemorating his display in Doha.
It was PSG who had the last laugh that night, though, as they claimed a 3-1 first-leg win, and a Martinez blunder in Tuesday’s return leg at Villa Park helped give Luis Enrique’s men complete control.
PSG took a 1-0 lead on the night after dispossessing Marcus Rashford and breaking free on the counter, the move capped when Martinez misjudged Bradley Barcola’s left-wing cross and turned it straight into the path of Achraf Hakimi.
ACHRAF HAKIMI OPENS THE SCORE FOR PSG! 🔥
A nightmare at the back for Aston Villa lets the Moroccan extend the visitors' lead in the tie#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/2E0QpQ5xzW
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 15, 2025
Hakimi, with the help of a deflection off Martinez’s outstretched leg, duly swept home the opening goal.
Villa responded well and did threaten to equalise, but their situation was made even more dire in the 27th minute.
Nuno Mendes followed a superb first touch with a sublime bending effort in off the post from just inside the area to give Villa a mountain to climb.
They started that climb seven minutes later when Youri Tielemans reduced the aggregate deficit to 5-2, his shot wrong-footing Gianluigi Donnarumma thanks to a heavy deflection off Willian Pacho.
That goal left Villa still needing three goals to even force extra time, but they at least went into half-time with some degree of hope.
