Erik ten Hag had called on his Manchester United players to give an appropriate response after seeing his team succumb to a demoralizing 1-3 loss at the hands of Aston Villa last weekend.
And their players showed spirit on Thursday when they came from behind on two separate occasions to win the third round of the Carabao Cup against the same opponent.
The Dutch manager made seven changes from the previous meeting, as goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay decided the match.
Bailey accused of hypocrisy
All six goals came in the second half and, for the opposition, Leon Bailey was back in fine form when he forced Diogo Dalot to score an own goal.
The Jamaican was the chief torturer during the league match and had created headlines after he accused referee Anthony Taylor of missing Lisandro Martinez’s double elbow, which should have resulted in a red card.
Very disappointed with the referees today, I couldn’t breathe for a second after taking two elbows to the rib. The linesman went on to say that he shouldn’t say anything because he was doing the same thing to Martinez. Sometimes I don’t understand why we have VAR. SMH.
— Leon Bailey ✞ (@leonbailey) November 7, 2022
He had tweeted: “Very disappointed in the refs today, couldn’t breathe for a second after taking two elbows to the rib.
“The linesman went on to say that he shouldn’t say anything because he was doing the same thing to Martinez. Sometimes I don’t understand why we have VAR. SMH”.
But during Thursday’s match, the two came face to face again, but this time it was Bailey who should have seen a red card for kicking the Argentine.
Both of them got into a fight near the center circle and both of them struggled to the ground. Bailey then first hit Martinez in the back of the head before kicking him in the knee.
Lucky to escape red for violent behavior
Fortunately for a downed Bailey, the ‘Butcher’ did not stir and looked at him calmly. The referee blew his whistle and Harry Maguire picked Bailey up and shoved him.
Very disappointed with the referees today. Sometimes I understand why we have VAR. SMH. https://t.co/mUdHs8PmcA pic.twitter.com/fKYhvnkNpn
— Scott Patterson (@R_o_M) November 10, 2022
Luckily for Villa’s attacker, there was no VAR on call, otherwise the yellow he ended up receiving would have been raised to red and he would have missed a few games due to violent behaviour.
United fans on social media were quick to point out the hypocrisy with most asking the 25-year-old to remain calm and not say things he can’t stand himself.
It was an entertaining game and in the end United did get their revenge and that is what the United faithful wanted. They will then face Burnley at Old Trafford on December 20 in the fourth round.
