Martial storms down tunnel and snubs Man United boss Ten Hag after substitution
Manchester United striker Anthony Martial made his way straight down the tunnel after being substituted in the 1-0 win at Bournemouth.
Erik ten Hag opted to start the Frenchman in their trip to the Cherries as United continue to eye a top four finish.
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Casemiro gave them the lead after nine minutes with an acrobatic finish, with the visitors heading into the break in control.
However on the stroke of the hour mark, Ten Hag made the decision to replace Martial with Wout Weghorst.
The 27-year-old clearly disagreed with the decision as he cut a confused figure when making his way off the pitch.
Speaking on commentary for talkSPORT 2, Nigel Adderley explained what happened: “Martial is very slowly walking around the end of the pitch, here, and he doesn’t look massively pleased with that decision – look at his face!”
“Well, to be fair, I don’t think he’s done anything in that first-half to warrant staying on the pitch,” said Perry Groves.
“We’ve mentioned before about Man United players playing within themselves, and I think he’s one of those sorts of players.”
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Adderley then revealed: “He’s gone straight down the tunnel,” before Groves added: “Yeah, Martial looked a little bit sharper going down the tunnel than he was when Man United were out of possession trying to win the ball back…”
He also did not acknowledge Ten Hag on the touchline, despite doing so with some staff and substitutes.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook after the match on Martial, Ten Hag remarked: “I think he played well, he returned to the bench, he’s OK.
“I think he just shot into the dressing room, I don’t know what you want to make from it.”
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The United boss has previously expressed his belief in Martial, despite the striker’s injury woes this season.
His contract at the club is set to expire next summer so he could therefore be on the move when the transfer window reopens.
Martial has scored 87 goals in 295 appearances since he signed in 2015, with eight of his strikes coming this season.
However, this latest moment at United could precede the end of his time at the club as his future remains uncertain.
The Red Devils went on to beat Bournemouth to claim a huge three points that boosts their hopes of finishing in the top four.
