Former Manchester United star Peter Schmeichel has taken aim at Erik ten Hag and Harry Maguire on the back of Lisandro Martinez’s injury.
On Thursday night, what looked like a comfortable win over Sevilla in the Europa League turned into a nightmare in the last 10 minutes.
United were cruising after Marcel Sabitzer gave them a 2-0 lead inside 21 minutes.
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However, things began to unravel after Tyrell Malacia’s own goal in the 84th minute.
Martinez went down injured two minutes later before Maguire’s unlucky own goal made it 2-2 deep into added time.
After the match, the focus was on the severity of Martinez’s injury as he was visibly upset when he was carried off the pitch by two Sevilla players.
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Schmeichel was far from happy with Maguire and Ten Hag, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “Martinez gets injured and he is clearly in pain. It looks like the Sevilla players are nice carrying him off the pitch.
“No, they wanted him out so they could get going. By carrying him off, it didn't stop their momentum, Man United used their five subs so they knew he wouldn't come back.
“It didn't give the manager or the players the opportunity to have a conversation.”
Schmeichel continued: “Man United players should have stopped that, leave him on the pitch, let them [the physios] come on and carry him out and in that period, you regroup.
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“This is something the players need to do, that's a lack of leadership on the pitch.
“Harry Maguire should have managed that situation. When the manager sees that his player is carried off by two opposition players, he should have stopped that.”
There were fears that Martinez had suffered an Achilles injury, but Ten Hag stated otherwise.
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He said: “No, it is not the area. But I can’t tell what it is. But it is not the area of Achilles.”
United will now be sweating over the defender’s fitness ahead of Sunday’s Premier League encounter with Nottingham Forest.
Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Harry Maguire, Peter Schmeichel, Sevilla, Football
Marcus Chan