Grealish and Martinez spotted in half-time bust-up in Aston Villa win v Man City
Jack Grealish and Emi Martinez were spotted in a half-time row as Aston Villa beat Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday.
With the former’s return to Villa Park highlighted ahead of the clash on 21 December, there was always bound to be tension, especially with the fans aiming chants at the 28-year-old.
Martinez is often seen as a pantomime villain amongst rival fans and he was clearly working his magic again, winding Grealish up as the teams went down the tunnel at the half-time break.
Taking to X [21 December], Simon Bajkowski wrote: “Bit of aggro at HT. Grealish complains to the referee, Martinez charges in and pushes Grealish, and Haaland pushes Martinez.
“The referee gets his yellow out as Martinez and Grealish are still at it down the tunnel. It would be nice if City had channelled some of that aggression into the football.”
Jack Grealish at centre of Aston Villa win v Manchester City
Grealish was always going to be subjected to a tough reaction from the Villa Park faithful, and he even managed to pick up a yellow card for his troubles.
Kicking out at John McGinn in the closing stages, the frustration was clear on the faces of the Man City players, but Unai Emery will be grinning from ear to ear.
His side are now back to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest last time out, going above their opponents in the Premier League table.
Of course, there will be disappointment that Villa could not keep a clean sheet, with Phil Foden hitting the back of the net in the fourth minute of added time, but fans will only be ecstatic with the performance.
With Newcastle United, Brighton and Leicester City up next, the Villans will feel that they can rise up the Premier League table before their next fixture outside of the league against West Ham in the FA Cup.
In other Aston Villa news, Amadou Onana sent a message as new Dele Alli transfer news emerged.
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