Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez makes ‘the best save ever’ in Premier League match against Nottingham Forest

(CNN) — On Saturday, in the 59th minute of his team’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest, time seemed to stand still for Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.

As a header from Forest’s Nicolás Domínguez whizzed past him, Martínez leapt backwards, reached out one hand and somehow pushed the ball to the ground to stopped it spinning into the net when it was just centimetres in front of the goal line.

It was, as former Wales defender Ashley Williams said on BBC’s Match of the Day, simply “the best save I have ever seen.”

“He is so clever, he understands where he is and what he needs to do. He is facing the wrong way,” Williams added.

Other pundits and players also hailed Martínez. England goalkeeper Mary Earps called the save “beyond outrageous” on Instagram while the Premier League said it was “world-class.”

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports that he couldn’t “think of a better Premier League save in my life.”

“It’s almost like a magician, sleight of hand. That is truly sensational,” Redknapp added.

Ultimately, however, Martínez’s heroics were in vain as Aston Villa succumbed to a 2-1 loss, undone by a late Forest fightback.

Villa had taken the lead three minutes after the Argentinian’s brilliant save through a Jhon Durán header. Unai Emery’s men defended that lead for almost the rest of the game until Nikola Milenković headed the ball into the net in the 87th minute and Martínez fumbled that save.

Forest secured the victory five minutes later in injury time when Anthony Elanga prodded the ball in from close range. With that win, Forest climbed to fourth in the Premier League table while Villa remained in sixth place.

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