'Bad one': Gary Neville feels VAR made a big mistake during Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea

Manchester United and Chelsea played out an underwhelming 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.

A penalty from Bruno Fernandes in the 70th minute was quickly cancelled out by a Moises Caicedo volley just four minutes later – with that exciting period masking what was largely a drab affair.

The result moves Chelsea fourth in the Premier League – while Manchester United sit 13th.

(Table accurate as of before Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea)

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	ChelseaChelsea	9	5	2	2	19	11	8	17

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
13	Man UtdManchester United	9	3	2	4	8	11	-3	11

However, there was one controversial moment that could have made life easier for Chelsea in the final seconds, had VAR made a different call – which Gary Neville feels those at Stockley Park should have.

Gary Neville says Lisandro Martinez ought to have seen red

Cole Palmer was left rolling around in agony following a challenge from Lisandro Martinez in the 93rd minute – after the Argentina international plunged his studs into the England international’s knee.

Robert Jones felt the lunge was only worthy of a yellow card, and after a brief VAR check, it was decided the 37-year-old made the correct call.

Neville – however – disagreed.

Speaking live on commentary duty for Sky Sports, the 49-year-old said: “Lisandro Martinez is lucky. I think it’s a red. It’s a bad one. When you are knee-high, you are asking for a red card.”

Roy Keane echoed that sentiment in his post-match analysis, adding: “It was a nasty tackle. He is lucky.”

The Premier League Match Centre – an account on X (previously known as Twitter) – attempted to clear up VAR’s thinking behind the incident, although their post did little in terms of providing clarity.

They wrote: “The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Palmer. VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming that it was a reckless challenge and not serious foul play.”

Martinez’s challenge aside, Neville felt Manchester United were “clueless” against Chelsea, in what was a very dull game between two – supposedly – top sides.

Chelsea have to do better than they did against Manchester United

Many Chelsea fans will say Martinez should have been dismissed, but overall, there was just one minute of stoppage time remaining, and it realistically wouldn’t have made much difference to the result.

What Enzo Maresca and supporters alike should be focusing on is the disappointing performance against a side languishing 13th in the Premier League, one who have only scored nine goals in ten Premier League outings so far this season.

Ruud van Nistelrooy watched his side squander many golden opportunities, with Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all missing promising chances.

Contrastingly, Chelsea did not create much at all, and needed to rely on a fantastic volley from Caicedo to avoid defeat – a display which Maresca will surely be furious about.