Marco Bizot has given Unai Emery something serious to consider before Aston Villa face Paris Saint-Germain after earning major praise for his display against Bayern Munich.
Villa were beaten 2-1 in Hong Kong on Friday, but the scoreline could have been considerably worse without Bizot.
The Dutch goalkeeper produced a string of important saves while Bayern controlled long periods of the friendly, including an impressive sequence of three stops.
Now the opposition media have gone even further.
Marco Bizot earns huge Bayern Munich praise
Bayern Munich site Bavarian Football Works handed Bizot its “Jersey Swap” award following the game.
The outlet argued Bayern should have scored at least twice more without the 35-year-old’s saves and described his contribution as the most significant for Villa during a game in which Emery’s side spent long spells under pressure.
Read Bavarian Football Works’ full Bayern v Aston Villa match awards
That creates an interesting decision before Wednesday.
Emiliano Martínez remains Villa’s established first-choice goalkeeper and is included alongside Bizot in the official squad for the UEFA Super Cup against PSG. UEFA confirms the final takes place in Salzburg on Wednesday 12 August.
Martínez would ordinarily be expected to return when available.
Bizot has nevertheless ensured Emery can make that decision knowing his understudy is in excellent form.
Against one of Europe’s strongest attacks, he repeatedly kept Villa alive before João Gomes reduced the deficit late on.
PSG will present an even greater challenge.
Emery may ultimately restore Martínez for one of the biggest games of Villa’s season. Bizot’s performance against Bayern has at least made sure the goalkeeper discussion is not as straightforward as it looked before the trip to Hong Kong.
