Manchester United held by Aston Villa
Former Liverpool man Philippe Coutinho came back to haunt Manchester United as he helped Aston Villa come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.
The Brazilian entered the fray at 2-0 down, coming on for his Villa debut in the process. And, his impact was immediate, as he registered a goal and an assist to bring the Villians back into the contest.
Welcome back to the Premier League, Philippe Coutinho. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qdphgA8Nuo
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 15, 2022
And, in what was another disappointment and more dropped points for the Red Devils, Manchester United forward Anthony Martial was a notable omission from the squad.
Quizzed on the situation, caretaker Ralf Rangnick revealed:
“He didn’t want to be in the squad.
He would have been in the squad normally but he didn’t want to and that was the reason why he didn’t travel with us yesterday (Friday).”
But now, Anthony Martial has hit back at this claim.
Anthony Martial hits back
In the aftermath of the game, Anthony Martial took to Instagram in an attempt to set the record straight, and hit back at claims that he opted out of being in the squad.
On his official profile, Martial claimed:
“I will never refuse to play a match for Man United. I’ve been here for 7 years and I never disrespected and will never disrespect the club and the fans.”
It is well known that Martial wants out from Old Trafford this January, but this public denial of his manager’s comments suggests that there is perhaps more under the surface than initially thought. Indeed, youth prospect Anthony Elanga was preferred to Martial at Villa Park, despite the absence of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford.
Will the situation be resolved by the end of January?
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 21 | 40 | 53 |
| 2 | Chelsea FC | 21 | 29 | 43 |
| 3 | Liverpool FC | 20 | 34 | 42 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 21 | 12 | 37 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 20 | 8 | 35 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 3 | 33 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 19 | 3 | 31 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 20 | 0 | 28 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | 0 | 28 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 18 | -2 | 25 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 21 | -1 | 24 |
| 12 | Southampton FC | 20 | -6 | 24 |
| 13 | Brentford FC | 20 | -6 | 23 |
| 14 | Aston Villa | 19 | -5 | 22 |
| 15 | Everton FC | 18 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 19 | -16 | 19 |
| 17 | Watford FC | 18 | -14 | 13 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 17 | -11 | 11 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 19 | -23 | 11 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 20 | -36 | 10 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 8 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 7 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 7 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 6 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 6 |
| Ward Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 6 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 6 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 6 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 6 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 1 | 4 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 4 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 1 | 4 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 5 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 5 |
| Canos, Sergi | Brentford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 5 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 9 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 4 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 4 |
| Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 |
