Why Unai Emery left Old Trafford pitch during game amid red card confusion

Unai Emery stormed down the tunnel before the final whistle in Aston Villa’s 4-4 draw with Manchester United. The Spaniard saw his side twice surrender a two-goal lead at Old Trafford on Sunday. In a dramatic conclusion, the Red Devils scored twice in stoppage time to snatch an unlikely point. Patrick Dorgu’s equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time came just four minutes after Joshua Zirkzee had reduced the deficit. Zion Suzuki had failed to claim a corner, allowing Dorgu to head the ball into an empty net. A brief VAR review saw the on-field decision to award the goal stand, leaving Emery furious on the touchline. Why did Emery storm down the tunnel? The Villa boss was so enraged by his side’s late collapse he stormed down the tunnel before the full-time whistle. It prompted initial confusion as to whether he had been sent off by referee Chris Kavanagh. However, it was instead prompted by United’s late comeback, with Emery even removing his coat as he trudged towards the tunnel. Villa had twice been in full control of the match and appeared on course to all three points. The visitors scored twice inside four minutes through Alysson and Nicolas Jackson to race into an early lead. However, Bruno Fernandes’ penalty was followed by an effort from former Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans before the break. Goals from John McGinn and Leon Goretzka had seemingly restored an insurmountable advantage for Villa in the second half. Despite having more than half an hour to mount a comeback, United had yet to eat into their lead as the match entered stoppage time. Michael Carrick’s side were able to score twice in four minutes themselves to cap a thrilling encounter. Historic United comeback Prior to Sunday’s match, United had not avoided defeat after going two goals behind at home in the Premier League for almost three years. The last occasion was also during a match against Villa, with the Red Devils winning 3-2 in December 2023. Meanwhile, Villa are the first team since April 2023 to take a two-goal lead twice in a Premier League match without going on to win. The result sees Villa extend their unbeaten streak in the Premier League to six matches. They have missed the opportunity to move into the top seven, though. Instead, Villa find themselves in tenth after ten matches, five points adrift of the Champions League spots. United woes continue As for United, their late draw is not enough to avoid dropping into the bottom three. The Red Devils remain with just one win to their name in the league this season and are a point from safety heading into the international break. It is the lowest United have been after ten matches of a top-flight season since sitting 20th in 1986/87. Meanwhile, they have only gone eight matches without winning a Premier League match before in April and May 2025. Due to the November international break, the Red Devils will spend at least 15 consecutive days in the relegation zone. It marks their longest run in the top-flight drop zone for 40 years after spending 28 days in the relegation spots in 1986.