‘Lazy and stupid’ Aaron Cresswell may cost West Ham as new claim emerges – Agbonlahor
Gabby Agbonlahor has slammed Aaron Cresswell for being “lazy and stupid” as he is set to miss out for West Ham as they face Lyon in the Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday night (14 April).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Aston Villa and England attacker claimed Cresswell’s red card in the first leg was “silly and very immature defending”.
The 32-year-old was sent off for denying Moussa Dembele a clear goalscoring opportunity in the first leg in the London Stadium.
It caused controversy as the contact was minimal and Dembele appeared to wink after his opponent was given his marching orders was shown.
“I thought it was a red card, to be honest,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“When a striker is running through on goal, why would you pull his shoulder back? It’s a foul.
“Yes, he made the most of it, of course he did. He probably knew his touch was going a bit wide if he wanted to get a shot off.
“If you’re Cresswell you’re taking the easy way out. You should be able to see Dembele’s not going to get a shot off and you’re going to get back. It was lazy defending and stupid.
“If I’m running back like that you either let him shoot or try and get back in. The lazy thing to do was to pull his shoulder.
“It was 100 per cent a foul and then a 50/50 red card because Dembele might not have got a shot away.
“He’s given the referee the chance to send him off and it’s silly and very immature defending from Cresswell.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Uefa now have the power to ‘relegate’ West Ham after a ‘major’ announcement.