Freddie Ljungberg Slams Lisandro Martinez After Man Utd’s 2-0 Defeat to Chelsea

Former Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg has strongly criticised Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez following the club’s 2-0 Premier League defeat to Chelsea, saying the Argentine’s behaviour on the pitch made him feel sick.

Martinez was sent off in the 63rd minute of Saturday’s encounter at Stamford Bridge after receiving a second yellow card for raising his arm against Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana.

The dismissal left Manchester United with 10 men and made their task more difficult. Chelsea subsequently extended their lead through Cole Palmer, who converted the resulting penalty to make it 2-0.

Morgan Rogers had earlier given Chelsea the lead after breaking through United’s defence and lifting the ball over goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

Speaking after the match, Ljungberg expressed sympathy for Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, arguing that the players were not doing enough to support him amid criticism of his managerial performance.

Freddie Ljungberg Slams Lisandro Martinez After Man Utd’s 2-0 Defeat to Chelsea

“I feel, when I look at that, I feel sorry for Michael Carrick,” the former Sweden international said, according to Metro.

He added that Carrick had faced widespread criticism in the media despite the players failing to deliver on the pitch.

“Everybody is slaughtering Carrick in the media and stuff, ‘Is he good enough as a coach, this and that’, the players are not doing it,” Ljungberg said.

The former Arsenal star was particularly unhappy with Martinez’s dismissal, saying the defender’s actions had left him uncomfortable.

“How they behave, Martinez, doing what he did, I was there, and I felt a bit sick,” he said.

Ljungberg further accused Martinez of making avoidable mistakes without considering their consequences for his teammates.

“I’ve seen this quite a few times when he does stupid things, doesn’t think about the team first. They let him down,” he added.

Carrick, however, declined to blame Martinez directly when asked by TNT Sports whether the defender had let him down, responding simply: “No.”

The defeat added to Manchester United’s difficult run, with the club struggling for consistency in the Premier League and other competitions. The figures supplied in the match report describe United as 17th with seven points from nine league matches, while also recording just two wins in 13 matches across all competitions.