'My secret? I guess to be honest!'

Emi Martinez was beaming as he left the pitch in Shanghai on Wednesday - and no wonder.



The goalkeeper made two vital stops in the penalty shootout after our 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich. So we asked him: what’s his secret to saving spot-kicks?

“I guess to be honest,” Emi replied. “Since I was a kid, I’ve never lost on a penalty shoot-out. I keep building my luck in penalties.

“That’s what we train so hard for, extra-time. Goalkeepers always start early and finish late. The boss said that I had 20 or 25 minutes to play in this game, and I tried to do my best. It worked.

“I saved two penalties at the end and that was pretty incredible, but I think everyone played a part in this game,” he added.

“Pete [Petr Cech] made some good saves and the defence was outstanding with Nacho and Mo playing 90 minutes in these conditions. We’re really glad because we’ve had three wins, or one draw and two wins, so hopefully we keep building our game.”