Manchester United fans have shown plenty of patience towards Angel di Maria since his downturn in form.
However, he has now put added pressure onto himself following a wholly unnecessary red card which rules him out of the game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Di Maria was booked for diving after going down following a light touch from Aaron Ramsey and was visibly frustrated at Michael Oliver’s decision, so much so that he decided to pull Oliver’s shirt back and continue protesting his argument.
Rightly so, Di Maria was booked for his dissent and combined with the first yellow, he was sent for an early bath.
Di Maria has been afforded plenty of patience to re-gain his form this season but this moment of madness is a big stain on his United career so far:
Ha, wow. A perfect storm of awfulness. A good chance gone at a trophy, a Di Maria red card, a baffling Herrera sub, a Welbeck winner. Bingo!
— Musa Okwonga (@Okwonga) March 9, 2015
No complaints. Unforgivable from Di Maria. Poor from Valencia. How can you expect to win a game when you shoot yourself in the foot, twice?
— Aran Sohal (@AranSohal) March 9, 2015
Regardless of whether in another match with another player the ref made the wrong call, he got it right with Di Maria tonight
— GirlOnUtd (@GirlOnUtd) March 9, 2015
Di Maria looked like he was getting back into form first half but spent this half diving around & gets sent off. Pathetic.
— Jon (@JonWilmot44) March 9, 2015
Incredible stupidity from Di Maria.
— Richard Cann (@RichardCann76) March 9, 2015
What Di Maria did was inexcusable and it was as South American as a red card can be – petulant, unnecessary and entirely unavoidable. He let himself get too caught up in the situation and reacted.
Fans will stand by Di Maria’s poor performances and support him to recapture his best form but for indefensible situations like this, it will make their patience wear thin quite quickly.
