Alan Shearer slams Douglas Luiz for foul in Aston Villa loss

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Alan Shearer has labelled Douglas Luiz crazy on Match of the Day 2 after the Aston Villa midfielder gave away a penalty during their defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

The Villans missed the chance to return to the top-half of the Premier League as they were beaten at Villa Park.

They had initially taken the lead, but the visitors were handed a golden chance to equalise shortly after the break.

Paul Pogba went down inside the box after a challenge from Luiz. It was certainly a clumsy attempt to win the ball from the Brazilian and it seemed that he could have few complaints about the decision.

Dean Smith criticised the referee following the game (via Birmingham Live). But Shearer suggested that the 23-year-old was the one who made the major error.

“That was the correct decision today,” he told Match of the Day 2. “He’s had one bite at him and he could’ve gone down.

“It was stupid, it was crazy to have another bite and give him the opportunity to go down again. It was a foul, and it was a penalty.”

Perhaps, Pogba went to ground easily. However, it was extremely naive from Luiz to give him the opportunity to go down inside the box.

There seemed to be little need to make that challenge in that moment. And Pogba was clever to make sure that he planted his leg as Luiz came round in an attempt to win the ball.

Smith’s frustration has surely stemmed from an example being made of Ollie Watkins later on. He certainly went down too easily for the incident that saw him receive a second yellow card late on.

However, Watkins is not the first player to go down after receiving barely any contact – and yet, so few receive the same punishment. So you can understand his disappointment in that situation.