Ralf Rangnick lifts lid on the remarkable reason Anthony Martial was unavailable for Manchester United
Last Updated: January 15, 2022 11:40 pm
Rangnick comments on Martial absence
Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick shed light on the situation surrounding French international winger Anthony Martial after the former AS Monaco standout failed to be included in the matchday squad that took on Aston Villa at Villa Park earlier this evening.
It was not a fitness concern or Covid-19 that kept Martial out of the United team, but rather the attacker himself, as the last planks of the bridge that existed between the club and player has seemingly burned to the ground.
What appears to be the final nail in Anthony Martial's coffin at #mufc has been hammered in by the player himself https://t.co/auxjZPLbx2
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) January 15, 2022
“He didn’t want to be in the squad, he would have been int he squad normally but he didn’t want to and that was the reason why he didn’t travel with us yesterday.” Note: Rangnick’s quote provided by Manchester Evening News correspondent Samuel Luckhurst
Luckhurst continued with his own assessment on his personal Twitter account;
“Martial pushed his luck during 2018 summer tour when he went AWOL (and was fined) but there was mitigation with him attending birth of son back then, whereas now his conduct is indefensible. Should never have got long-term contract when he did, either, but #mufc are badly run.”
Man United suffer late draw against Villa
If the frustration around the situation involving Anthony Martial is not enough at Manchester United, tonight’s 2-2 draw away at Aston Villa hardly boosted the confidence of the fans regarding manager Rangnick, after the Red Devils let a two-goal lead slip late in the second-half.
United were two goals to the good thanks to Portuguese international Bruno Fernandes on either side of the half-time interval, and looked to be coasting to a valuable three-point haul away from home, but the introduction of Philippe Coutinho changed all of that.
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – JANUARY 15: Philippe Coutinho of Aston Villa celebrates after scoring their side’s second goal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester United at Villa Park on January 15, 2022 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The former Liverpool standout was the difference maker less than ten minutes after his introduction when his run into the box eventually led to Jacob Ramsey reducing the deficit to just a single goal.
Ramsey would then turn provider four minutes later when Coutinho stabbed home from close range to pull Villa level in a dream debut for the Brazilian international in his return to the Premier League.
United failing to secure three points saw them miss a chance to leapfrog Tottenham and pull within a point of Arsenal, who sits fifth in the table.
This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 36 | 72 | 89 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 36 | 65 | 86 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 36 | 42 | 70 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 37 | 24 | 68 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 36 | 11 | 66 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 37 | 1 | 58 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 36 | 11 | 55 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 36 | -3 | 50 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 36 | -4 | 47 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 35 | -4 | 45 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 35 | 4 | 44 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 35 | -1 | 43 |
| 13 | Brentford FC | 36 | -8 | 43 |
| 14 | Newcastle United | 36 | -21 | 43 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 36 | -20 | 40 |
| 16 | Everton FC | 35 | -19 | 36 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 36 | -18 | 34 |
| 18 | Leeds United | 36 | -38 | 34 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 36 | -38 | 23 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 36 | -56 | 21 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 22 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 18 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 14 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 13 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 13 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 11 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa | 11 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 10 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 10 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 11 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 10 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 10 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 9 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| James, Daniel | Leeds United | 1 | 7 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 8 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 8 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 10 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Kulusevski, Dejan | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
