When Erik ten Hag said there was no such thing as a friendly, Lisandro Martinez took that advice quite literally.
The Manchester United defender wiped out Bukayo Saka in a warm-up match with Arsenal last week.
2
Now Jude Bellingham was the latest to understand why the Argentine is aptly nicknamed ‘The Butcher’.
United were playing in another friendly stateside with Real Madrid their opposition.
Bellingham netted his first goal for the club since a record-breaking £115million move from Borussia Dortmund.
The 20-year-old was then left fuming with Martinez when the United man hacked him down in a late challenge.
He shoved the Argentine before Bellingham’s England teammate Mason Mount quickly rushed to diffuse the situation.
It was Madrid’s night, however, as they won 2-0 with Joselu netting a late second.
“The little tiff with Martinez is one of those things,” said the 20-year-old afterwards.
“He is a brilliant player. I came in at half-time and I was f’ing this and f’ing that. But when he came over to wish me all the best when he came off, I really respected it.
“I know what goes on the pitch stays on the pitch. I saw him at the end of the game and wished him well. I can respect that when two players are trying to win for their team and can come together and be respectful after the game.
2
“He is a great competitor and a great player. Just like me, he wants to win. Sometimes it spills over. That is part of the game. I am really respectful. We can have that moment after the game.”
He added: What did I tell Lisandro Martinez? I can’t really repeat that to be honest.”
The new talkSPORT match centre
Keep up-to-date with all the latest football fixtures, results and standings in our new match centre.
We have the all the 2023/24 Premier League, EFL, National League and Scottish games listed, as well as all the Women’s World Cup info you need, including fixture timings, results and group tables.
Plus, we have all the major leagues across the world covered, with up-to-date standings on LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and MLS.
