What Emi Martínez Offers to Help Aston Villa Overcome PSG’s Atmosphere in Champions League | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain are set to take on Aston Villa, with a place in the semifinals at stake. PSG advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout victory over Liverpool.

Aston Villa had a smoother path in their previous round, dominating Club Brugge with a 6-1 aggregate score. There’s also a personal element to this matchup, with Unai Emery and Marco Asensio facing their former teams.

Both sides come into the game with strong momentum. PSG recently secured their 13th league title with a 1-0 win over Angers, while Villa picked up a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in their latest outing.

French football Expert weighs in on Emiliano Martínez

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On the latest PSG Talking podcast, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Johnson highlighted what Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez could do in the first leg to take the pressure off his teammates, considering they’ll be playing in France and those PSG supporters haven’t forgotten that Argentina defeated Les Bleus in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“I think Emi Martínez will certainly be key in Villa’s potential to win the mental battle, ensuring they don’t get overawed by the Parc de Princes atmosphere,” Johnson said. “I do think the vibrancy of the crowd is something you don’t see every week in the Premier League.

‘With all due respect, you can’t be playing Liverpool at Anfield every week. There are some stadiums where the support base isn’t as vocal, certainly not as loud as what they’re about to experience at Parc des Princes.

‘So I do think there will be an element of mental surprise, with the atmosphere being stronger and the reception much hotter than they might have anticipated. Having someone like Emi Martínez in goal can immediately take the sting out of that because he will.”