Manuel Pellegrini says he was worried about West Ham getting a red card at half time

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West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini says he was concerned his side would get a red card by half time in last night’s 0-0 draw against Aston Villa.

As per Football.London, Pellegrini said in his post-match press conference that he shared with Mark Noble he thought a red card could have been on the cards – and Arthur Masuaku was duly dismissed.

He said: “I said at half time to Mark, we must be careful. We are playing away, it is not easy to make the mistake for the second card. In a normal play for a home team, that is not a yellow card.

“I think for the referee, the decision, we cannot complain – it was his decision. It is a typical second yellow card when you play away. It is very easy to simulate a foul, to make a fake foul. It is normal, they tried to do it with the pressure of the fans on Mark Noble in the first half.”

TBR’s View – Masuaku’s dismissal was soft but he should have heeded his manager’s warning

There wasn’t a great deal of contact at all by Masuaku but if Pellegrini had already identified that a red card might have been on the cards last night, the defender should have been more aware.

In the end, it didn’t cost West Ham the game and they actually improved when they went down to 10 men.

But it must have frustrated Pellegrini, who will now be without the defender for the visit of Manchester United this weekend.