After Emiliano Martínez’s mistake allowed Mohamed Salah to open the scoring at Anfield last weekend, there was a statistic doing the rounds that only three players had made more errors leading to Premier League goals since the Argentinian signed for Aston Villa five years ago. The life of a goalkeeper and all that.
But Martínez tends to thrive when in the line of fire and here he pulled off two brilliant saves, including one to deny Antoine Semenyo from the penalty spot, before the substitutes Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen sealed a 4-0 win that lifts Villa above Bournemouth in the table. For Andoni Iraola’s side, their first notable …
After Emiliano Martínez’s mistake allowed Mohamed Salah to open the scoring at Anfield last weekend, there was a statistic doing the rounds that only three players had made more errors leading to Premier League goals since the Argentinian signed for Aston Villa five years ago. The life of a goalkeeper and all that.
But Martínez tends to thrive when in the line of fire and here he pulled off two brilliant saves, including one to deny Antoine Semenyo from the penalty spot, before the substitutes Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen sealed a 4-0 win that lifts Villa above Bournemouth in the table. For Andoni Iraola’s side, their first notable off-day of an otherwise fine start.
Villa’s first-half goals were both scored within a couple of yards of the same patch of Villa Park turf, Emiliano Buendía lifting a wonderful free-kick over the Bournemouth wall and past Djordje Petrovic in the visitors’ goal and 12 minutes later Amadou Onana powered a low, precise shot inside the near post. Villa established a two-goal cushion at the interval but the second half always felt dangerously balanced given Bournemouth under Iraola, with nothing really to lose, would invariably attack.
Bournemouth’s left-back Adrien Truffert was fortunate to avoid a second booking for a poor challenge on the Villa captain, John McGinn, typically brilliant in midfield, and a few minutes later they came close to pulling a goal back. Semenyo rampaged towards goal and though McGinn blocked his route, Alex Scott picked up the leftovers and dispatched a first-time shot. A wicked deflection meant Scott’s effort looped high and a back-pedalling Martínez prevented it sneaking under his crossbar with his left glove. Three minutes later Evanilson headed against a post at a corner.
Ross Barkley heads in Villa’s third goal while under pressure from Bournemouth’s Veljko Milosavljevic. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Midway through the second half Bournemouth had a clear opportunity to score, Martínez asked the Holte End behind him to turn up the volume and they duly obliged before the goalkeeper dived low to his right and clawed Semenyo’s spot-kick away before Villa cleared for a corner. Unai Emery was a ball of emotion, sending three giant punches into the air towards the Villa fans. Villa added a third when Barkley headed in a Lucas Digne corner and then Malen diverted Youri Tielemans’s shot in off his right boot, though he probably knew little about it.
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Bournemouth were poor by the standards they have set this season, perhaps spooked by a sickening early collision between the returning captain, Adam Smith, and Tyler Adams. Smith, half of his face covered in blood, was ordered off the field despite his wishes to continue while Adams, whose shoulder clashed with Smith, resumed his midfield role.
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Alex Jiménez replaced Smith at right-back but the Milan loanee did not return for the second half, replaced at half-time by Lewis Cook after picking up a yellow card for crudely checking Buendía’s run. Villa’s subs had a more enjoyable afternoon, Malen stroking wide with three minutes of normal time to run as Villa went in search of a fifth.