Arsenal legend, Freddie Ljungberg has criticised Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez following the Red Devils’ 2-0 loss to Chelsea, admitting that the Argentine’s conduct on the pitch made him feel sick.
Martinez was shown a red card in the 63rd minute of Saturday’s Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge after picking up a second yellow card for raising his arm against Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana.
The dismissal further complicated United’s afternoon, with Cole Palmer converting the resulting penalty to extend Chelsea’s advantage to 2-0. Morgan Rogers had earlier opened the scoring after breaking through United’s defence before delicately lifting the ball over goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
Speaking after the match, according to Metro, Ljungberg expressed sympathy for Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, arguing that the players were not doing enough to protect him from criticism.
The former Arsenal winger believes Carrick has been receiving widespread criticism over his managerial ability despite the players failing to deliver on the pitch.
He said, “I feel, when I look at that, I feel sorry for Michael Carrick.”
“Everybody is slaughtering Carrick in the media and stuff, ‘Is he good enough as a coach, this and that’, the players are not doing it.”
Ljungberg was particularly unhappy with Martinez’s sending-off, revealing that the defender’s actions left him feeling uncomfortable.
“How they behave, Martinez, doing what he did, I was there, and I felt a bit sick.”
The former Sweden international further suggested that Martinez has repeatedly made unnecessary mistakes without considering the consequences for his teammates.
“I’ve seen this quite a few times when he does stupid things, doesn’t think about the team first. They let him down.”
Meanwhile, Carrick refused to single out Martinez for blame when asked by TNT Sports whether the defender had let him down, responding with a simple “No”.
However, the United manager also addressed the defender’s dismissal during his post-match comments.
Manchester United’s defeat leaves them 17th in the Premier League table, with just seven points from nine matches. They are above the relegation zone only on goal difference.
The result also extended United’s winless run in all competitions to nine matches, highlighting the club’s difficult start to the campaign.
The Red Devils have managed just two victories in 13 matches across all competitions this season, defeating Ipswich in the Premier League and Sabah in the Champions League.