Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez was somewhat fortunate to escape a red card during the Red Devils’ reverse at the hands of Aston Villa.
Erik ten Hag’s men slumped to a miserable 3-1 defeat at Villa Park. They found themselves 2-0 down after just 11 minutes with Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne scoring in what was a dream start for Unai Emery.
United thought they had found a route back into the game courtesy of Jacob Ramsey’s own goal just before the break. The Villa academy graduate would rubber-stamp three points for the hosts as he scored in the correct goal after half-time.
Defeat ended the Red Devils’ positive recent run of nine matches without a loss in all competitions but it could have been a lot worse after the otherwise impressive Martinez was involved in a contentious incident alongside Villa star Bailey in the 63rd minute.
As the Argentine was attempting to shield the ball out of play, he put his body in the way and seemingly drove his elbow into the midriff of the Jamaican forward.
The former Ajax man then repeated the trick as he drove his arm towards Bailey’s stomach. The Villa man was left clutching his torso after the incident. Neither the referee or VAR were particularly interested as Martinez escaped serious punishment.
Where did Man Utd go wrong in their defeat to Aston Villa? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Whether the FA take retrospective action on the centre-back remains to be seen but as it stands, the Argentine is free to play in United’s rematch with Villa in the Carabao Cup next week. He will also be eligible to play in the Red Devils’ final Premier League match ahead of the World Cup break against newly-promoted Fulham.
Whilst Martinez was involved in a contentious incident, he wasn’t the only United player to have garnered the attention of the headlines at Villa Park.
Captain-for-the-day Cristiano Ronaldo was also at the heart of a fiery incident with defender Tyrone Mings. The pair were involved in a brief tussle during the second-half of the clash, with the Villa man eventually ending up on the floor as both sets of players attempted to separate the two antagonists.
Referee Anthony Taylor brandished a yellow card to both Ronaldo and Mings, with VAR electing that no further punishment was required. Speaking after the full-time whistle, Erik ten Hag claimed that his side deserved to be walking away with a defeat.
“We lose the game start of the first half and second half, that is unacceptable. They looked more fresh, more ready,” he said. "The result is clear, it never lies. In football you always get your own earnings. Today we were not good enough."
