Leeds‘ nightmare start at Arsenal on Sunday was made worse with defender Luke Ayling sent off for a dangerous challenge on Gabriel Martinelli that will now rule him out of the final three matches of their relegation run-in.
Jesse Marsch’s men were already trailing 2-0 thanks to a brace from their former loanee Eddie Nketiah, who caught goalkeeper Illan Meslier in possession for the opener before doubling the Gunners’ lead with an improved finish from the centre of the box.
That frustration got the better of stand-in captain Ayling, who lunged in on Martinelli as the Arsenal forward attempted to knock the ball through his legs by the corner flag.
Commentator Adam Smith said the two-footed, studs-up tackle “had no place in football these days”, though referee Chris Kavanagh initially only showed a yellow card.
The challenge provoked a furious response from the forward’s Arsenal team-mates. In turn, Raphinha was booked for protesting too vociferously in Ayling’s defence and subsequently had to be restrained by Diego Llorente to avoid Leeds going down to nine men.
More from Football
“I love Luke Ayling as a player, but what an idiot,” said Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports. “The lack of professionalism for his own team-mates and what this could mean going forward. It’s a disgusting tackle coming in with two feet there.
Reminds me of a tackle Vinnie Jones done a long time ago maybe I think on Gary Stevens. What he thinks is going to happen on the back of that… it was obviously going to be a red card.
“To do that, put your team-mates down to 10 men, you miss the last three games of the season – that might be the last game Luke Ayling ever plays in the Premier League.
Within minutes, Leeds’ afternoon was incredibly made even worse as Everton’s goal at Leicester put the Toffees 2-1 up.
Key games Ayling will miss
A three-game suspension means Ayling will now miss the following fixtures in Leeds’ relegation run-in:
- Chelsea (h)
- Brighton (h)
- Brentford (a)
At the time of writing, that plunged Jesse Marsch’s side back into the relegation zone.
“He’s jumped in two with feet,” Smith added after reviewing the Ayling red card.
“He’s annoyed the flag didn’t go up. You can’t go in like this these days. He doesn’t get the ball. Martinelli knocks it through his legs.
“He was annoyed about something Ayling. I don’t know if it was he thought Martinelli was offside. It seems pretty clear-cut to me.”
from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/8csfLkv
Post a Comment