Mason Greenwood lashed out at Amadou Onana at the end of Aston Villa's pre-season friendly against Marseille
(Image: Getty Images)
Aston Villa lost their penultimate pre-season friendly in Marseille, in what proved to be a hotly contested affair at the Stade Vélodrome.
New signing Evann Guessand became the fourth Villa player to be booked, when he committed a foul in the 70th minute - a decision that looked harsh.
Matty Cash, John McGinn, and Donyell Malen had already gone into the referee’s book, as he allowed very little to go unpunished in the first hour.
However, the referee struggled to maintain control of the game, and Marseille’s players took advantage, seemingly making fouls simply to rouse their sell-out crowd.
With the ferocity of this so-called “friendly” threatening to boil over, tensions finally erupted late on when Mason Greenwood kicked out at Amadou Onana.
The former Manchester United man had evaded a couple of tackles before losing possession, and in frustration, kicked Onana in a challenge that made no attempt to win the ball.
Greenwood then shoved Onana, before becoming entangled in a grappling match with Tyrone Mings. The Villa defender exchanged words with Greenwood and appeared to leave him with a ripped shirt. Moments later, Greenwood was substituted, leaving the pitch without his jersey.
Before the final whistle, Unai Emery was seen arguing with Roberto De Zerbi on the touchline.
The Villa manager will be frustrated by his side’s second-half display - they were second-best - but ultimately relieved to leave France without any injuries to his squad.