Tottenham Hotspur pulled off a remarkable victory at the weekend.
Prior to the international break, Jose Mourinho took his Spurs players to his former club Manchester United, meeting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men at Old Trafford.
And the Portuguese, needless to say, had the last laugh.
His side won 6-1, fighting back from a goal down to utterly humiliate the hosts.
Bruno Fernandes scored the opening goal with a second-minute penalty but Tanguy Ndombele swiftly equalised. Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min went on to score braces, while Serge Aurier was also on the scoresheet in a top performance.
However, it did not come without its controversy.
Anthony Martial was sent off in the 28th minute after a clash with Erik Lamela at a corner.
The Argentine appeared to raise his elbow towards the France international, who responded with a rather petulant slap.
Lamela went down and, while he was booked, Martial was shown a straight red card, which VAR upheld.
The Athletic now reports that the United players were roundly disgusted with Lamela’s actions, insisting that he dived and conspired to have Martial sent off.
They quote an insider, who says: “The players thought he was a disgrace.”
He added: “At half-time the United players all knew Lamela had faked it. They were angry. Jose did a masterstroke to take him out.”
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
It wasn’t Lamela’s fault.
Yes, he raised his elbow towards Martial and, yes, that could be construed as violent conduct but, ultimately, it wasn’t.
The fact is the United attacker did not need to respond as he did, by slapping his rival.
There was no need for it and the way Martial walked off the pitch and down the Old Trafford tunnel suggests that he knew as much.
Mourinho famously told his players during the Amazon ‘All or Nothing’ documentary that they had to be intelligent swear-words.
One can certainly say Lamela was that. Martial fell for it.