Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was left rueing an ‘amazing’ performance from Emiliano Martinez as the Premier League giants failed to break down Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round.
After the feast that was the 6-1 midweek hammering of Middlesbrough came the famine.
Chelsea, creating and squandering chance after chance, failed to breach an Aston Villa side who just happened to have a World Cup-winning goalkeeper in Emiliano Martinez between the sticks at Stamford Bridge.
Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke were among those to be denied by a shot-stopper who put every inch of his 6ft 4 frame to good use in West London, setting up a replay between the two top-flight rivals.
Chelsea and Aston Villa draw in FA Cup fourth round
“These types of games are even and, of course, when you face a team like Aston Villa, it is always difficult. Of course, we didn’t score but we created chances,” Pochettino told Football London at full-time.
“I trust and believe in my players, for sure. Playing this way, we are going to score.”
Well, usually, anyway.
“We came from Tuesday where we scored six,” the former Tottenham boss adds. “I think the keeper is an amazing keeper, Emiliano. He was really, really good. Yes, sometimes you need some luck to score.”
Aston Villa, it should be said, created more than a few chances of their own. Unai Emery’s side actually managed 13 attempts on goal, compared to Chelsea’s 10, with the midfield quartet of Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Douglas Luiz as impressive as ever.
Emery, however, was equally keen to pay tribute to a man who, at £20 million, may be one of the best pound-for-pound signings in Villa’s modern history.
Emi Martinez shines again
“Clean sheets are always important and our goalkeeper Emiliano was fantastic,” Emery argues. “Defensively, we were defending very well. Lower than we wanted they were demanding that of us.
“We did a fantastic job and were progressively getting better. We changed the game a little bit and controlled the match.
“This draw is fair for both teams and we’re going to decide the match in the replay.”
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