**Manchester United have suffered a blow ahead of their Premier League clash with Liverpool next month, with key man Lisandro Martinez suspended for the game.**
The Reds’ rivals slipped up in the battle for Champions League qualification on Monday night, as the big clubs continue to toil this season.
Leeds United did Liverpool a huge favour by winning 2-1 at Old Trafford, and United’s misery was compounded by a straight red card for Martinez in the second half.
The Argentine was given his marching orders for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair in the incident, with opinion split over whether it was a harsh decision or not.
Speaking to [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/13531498/lisandro-martinez-red-michael-carrick-slams-shocking-decision-as-one-of-worst-ive-seen-after-var-overturn-vs-leeds) after the game, United manager Michael Carrick certainly wasn’t impressed by the performance of referee Paul Tierney:
_“It’s not a pull, it’s not a tug, it’s not aggressive, he touches it and gets sent off. Worst of all is he was sent to overturn it as a clear and obvious error. It’s shocking._
_“He’s off-balance because of that, he half touches the back of his hair which pulls the bobble out and leads it to look like – I don’t even know what it looks like. That’s two games in a row we’ve had those decisions go against us, but that one was one of the worst I’ve seen.”_
**A boost for Liverpool ahead of trip to Man Utd**
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Martinez is a divisive character, with some seeing him as a loose cannon, but it is hard to deny that United’s defence is stronger with him in it.
He is a World Cup-winning centre-back with an edge to his game, and his ability to play the ball out from the back is arguably superior to the likes of Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro, for example.
United will now be without one of their biggest winners against Liverpool, which can only be a good thing in a potentially massive game at Old Trafford, which takes place on Sunday, May 3rd at 3.30pm (BST).
The third-place Red Devils’ loss to Leeds means they are only three points ahead of the Reds with the same number of games played, ahead of some pivotal action this coming weekend.
United make the trip to Chelsea on Saturday night, with any result in that game likely to be a positive one for Liverpool, while Arne Slot’s men face their first Merseyside derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Everton on Sunday.