Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has admitted his form has dipped this season amid his side’s struggles to keep clean sheets.
Unai Emery’s side have kept just two clean sheets in their 16 Premier League games this season — in home matches against Manchester United and Southampton — while only six teams in the league have conceded more than their 25 against.
Martinez said he had been “really bad” in his objective of keeping more clean sheets.
“I am not having a good year in that respect,” Martinez told ESPN Argentina. “But the important thing is to win and to qualify for the Champions League again next season.”
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The 32-year-old added that Villa, who are currently seventh in the Premier League, were this season “having a bit more trouble in the Premier League with the demands of the Champions League.” This season is Villa’s first in Europe’s premier club competition since 1983.
Speaking ahead of Villa’s home game against Manchester City on Saturday, Martinez said City were still “the best in the world” despite winning just one of their most recent 11 matches in all competitions.
“City is similar to the Argentine national team, sometimes you lose a match and it feels like the final,” Martinez said. “They are not doing badly, people are used to seeing them win. City has not gone anywhere, they are the best in the world.”
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