Manchester United defender Chris Smalling is confident of avoiding future red cards.
Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has insisted his red card received in the derby loss to City was a one-off.
The England international came in for huge criticism after his two yellow cards put the Red Devils under huge pressure, eventually succumbing to a 1-0 loss.
He has served his one game suspension against Crystal Palace and is eligible to feature against Arsenal at the weekend. Good news for him includes the fact Rafael da Silva is also back, meaning he would be deployed in his favoured centre-back role rather than on the right.
Smalling says he has received valuable advice from England boss Roy Hodgson, who urged him to put the error behind him.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Smalling said: “The red card was disappointing for the result, but I rarely get yellows so, hopefully, it will never happen again.
“I really respect Roy. He’s really easy to talk to. He didn’t need to say much about the red card because it was very out of character for me and one of those where I just have to move on. There are always little things to learn.”
To be absolutely fair to Smalling, he has a real point – in 64 Premier League games for the club, he has only four yellow cards.
| Position | Team | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | Penalties Conceded | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Smalling | DF | Man Utd | 4 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 4,567 |
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