Jack Grealish and Emiliano Martinez could be seen engaged in a heated discussion as they made their way down the tunnel in Man City’s clash with Aston Villa.
With City in their midst of their worst-ever run of form under Pep Guardiola, the champions entered Saturday’s clash looking to get back to winning ways.
In a bid to shake things up, Guardiola made several changes to the team that suffered a Manchester derby collapse last week, including a first start at Villa Park for Grealish since he left his boyhood club in 2021.
Villa seized the initiative from kick-off and after coming close once before, Jhon Duran put the hosts into the lead after just 16 minutes.
As the game reached the halfway point, Grealish could be seen appearing to protest the lack of stoppage time in the first half.
Then, as both teams made their way off the pitch the England international could be seen exchanging words with his former team-mate Martinez.
Jack Grealish was involved in a fiery exchange with Emiliano Martinez during Man City’s clash with Aston Villa
The former team-mates became embroiled in a heated exchange following the half time whistle
The Argentinian goalkeeper was subsequently booked for his involvement in the incident
Erling Haaland played peacemaker, getting between the two men as they remained animated on their way off the pitch.
The conversation continued down the tunnel and the Argentine was subsequently booked by referee Peter Bankes for his involvement in the incident.
City’s afternoon went from bad to worse after the restart as Morgan Rogers’ doubled Villa’s lead with a well-taken finish from inside the box.
