Neville: Man United star didn’t ‘look too happy’ with ‘surprising’ Amorim call in second half

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·21 dicembre 2025

Neville: Man United star didn’t ‘look too happy’ with ‘surprising’ Amorim call in second half

Gary Neville says Joshua Zirkzee wasn’t best pleased that Lisandro Martinez was called upon to replace Bruno Fernandes instead of him.

When Aston Villa and Manchester United exited down the tunnel for the interval, it was expected that Bruno Fernandes would not emerge for the second half – at least not to continue playing, anyway.

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What happened to Bruno Fernandes vs Villa?

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United’s skipper had shown some discomfort towards the closing stages of the first half after it looked as though he had pulled his hamstring.

Neville subsequently spotted Fernandes signalling to Ruben Amorim and the coaching staff that he was unable to continue, and they took heed of his requests during the break.

Yet, when the game was about to get back underway at Villa Park, Neville said he was ‘surprised’ to see that it was Martinez coming off the bench to replace the midfielder.

Martinez is, of course, a natural centre-back, although he has overseen several shifts in midfield, most notable during his Ajax days.

Zirkzee felt aggrieved by late substitution

Shortly before Fernandes’ withdrawal, Neville pointed out that Amorim had told Zirkzee to go and warm up, suggesting the Dutchman would be first in line to enter the fray in his skipper’s absence.

When it was then confirmed that wouldn’t be the case, Neville said Zirkzee ‘doesn’t look like he’s too happy’ with the decision.

The forward did eventually get a run of action, albeit 28 minutes later than he’d hoped, as Zirkzee came on in the 73rd minute to replace Manuel Ugarte.

He was unable to add to his goal tally in the 17 minutes he was on the pitch, and United slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the in-form Villans.