Emiliano Martinez was Aston Villa’s hero against Manchester United – but not for his work with the gloves, writes DAVE FRASER. Trailing 1-0 thanks to Kortney Hause’s late strike, United was given a shot at redemption after being awarded a penalty in added time.
Bruno Fernandes has been the hosts’ designated penalty taker since his arrival in the 2019-20 winter window. But with Cristiano Ronaldo back on the books at Old Trafford, questions were raised as to who would take a penalty.
Fernandes ultimately grabbed the ball and prepared to take his kick as players continued to surround the referee. But with all eyes on the commotion, Martinez stepped away and appeared toDARERonaldo to take the penalty instead.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper appeared to yell ‘you take it’ at Ronaldo – one of football’s greatest-ever goal-scorers.