Manchester United suffered a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening, and the post-match fallout has deepened simmering concerns at Old Trafford. Lisandro Martinez has reportedly clashed with a team-mate after his explosive interview, while Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa has been fined for comments about an earlier match.
Martinez 'confronted' after interview
In his first complete season in charge, Michael Carrick has managed just two victories so far this campaign — a 5-2 Premier League win over Ipswich Town and a 4-0 triumph against Sabah FK. Against Atletico, Pablo Barrios put the hosts ahead inside the opening minute at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Leny Yoro was shown a red card in the 74th minute, before Ademola Lookman struck five minutes later to wrap up a 2-0 victory for the Spanish side.
Following the defeat, Martinez launched a scathing attack on the club's board and their summer transfer dealings, implying the current squad falls short of the standard required for Champions League football. He singled out director of football Jason Wilcox while throwing his support behind Carrick.
According to Sky Sports, some of Martinez's teammates were unimpressed with how he conducted himself. One player is claimed to have confronted him during United's flight back to England from Madrid, and several other squad members have been left disgruntled by the Argentine's behaviour.
Arbeloa fined for comments
Separately, Alvaro Arbeloa has been fined £25,000 by the FA and issued with an official warning. United travelled to Craven Cottage on September 20 and secured a 1-1 draw. Fulham had gone ahead in the 63rd minute courtesy of a Martinez own goal, but were pegged back deep into second-half stoppage time when Matheus Cunha's heavily deflected strike beat Bernd Leno.
Following the match, Arbeloa said: "I think all fouls for them. Every decision was for them, and I knew, I knew after the game against Man City (a controversial 1-0 loss) that they don't let Manchester United lose here."
The commission examining the matter "felt that those words suggested, not only that there was bias on the part of the match officials throughout the game on repeated occasions, but also that there may even have been an element of pre-meditation by them and/or others to try to make up for an error in a different match."
