Aston Villa fans hail Emiliano Martinez for his display against Manchester City

Aston Villa were eventually beaten 2-0 away to Manchester City on Wednesday evening – but some of the club’s fans on Twitter were majorly impressed by the performance of their goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Dean Smith’s side returned to Premier League action for the first time since 1 December and they showed against Man City the progress they’ve made from last season.

The two teams went toe-to-toe during the match and the deadlock wasn’t broken until Bernardo Silva’s wonderful finish in the 79th minute, plus Ilkay Gundogan netted a second in the 90th minute.

It was current league leaders Man City that took the three points, but Villa more than played their part in a great spectacle.

They had a few glorious goalscoring opportunities when the game was 0-0 and just lacked the clinical touch.

If the midweek performance was anything to go by, it shows Villa are rightfully being talked about as a team that can compete for the European positions this season.

(Photo by Victoria Haydn/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)

A selection of Villa supporters on social media gave immense credit to Martinez for his display against Man City.

He made a jaw-dropping save from close range early on and it took a superb individual goal to beat him.

The 28-year-old shot-stopper is a colossus that has made such a difference to the backline since his summer arrival from Arsenal and was unfortunate to end up on the losing side.

Here are some Villa fans discussing Martinez:

Martinez has an absolute gravity around him, out of this world

— James (@_JamesAVFC) January 20, 2021

Martinez or targett for MOTM both have been superb #avfc

— LCVILLA LEGEND (@lcvillafan) January 20, 2021

MARTINEZ IS ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL FAM. DO NOT CHAT TO ME. UTV #MCIAVL

— The Mal (@RyanOMalley6) January 20, 2021

Emi Martinez is a Jedi. His reflexes are ridiculous. #AVFC #UTV

— All Villa No Filler (@VillaNoFiller) January 20, 2021

Martinez is unreal!

— Liam Murphy (@LiamAVFCMurphy) January 20, 2021

Martinez is actually the best keeper in the league

— Matthew_AVFC (@MatthewAVFC01) January 20, 2021

Martinez may be the best £20m we've ever spent.#AVFC

— TB Returns (@ReturnsTB) January 20, 2021