Emi Martinez goes opposite route to Argentina boss with antics aimed at Brazil star

Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez was in the thick of the drama as tensions spilled over between him and his team-mates towards Raphinha after comments the Brazil star made

Emi Martinez relished the chance to wind up Raphinha during Argentina's thumping 4-1 win over Brazil after the Barcelona winger had vowed that he and his team-mates would 'beat up' their bitter rivals.

Goals from Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Giuliano Simeone were enough to condemn La Selecao to a chastening defeat in Buenos Aires. Wolves forward Matheus Cunha scored Brazil's only goal on the night, making it 2-1 at the time.

There was drama on the pitch involving Raphinha after his X-rated pre-match comments, which were relayed to Brazil legend, Romario. "We are going to beat them up on and off the pitch if necessary. I am going to score. They can s*** themselves!" Raphinha continued: "In Argentina, you have to hit them, it hurts! They're b*******."

Martinez has form for mind games and the Aston Villa goalkeeper made the most of an opportunity to barge past Raphinha towards the end of the first half, sparking an angry reaction.

The 32-year-old revelled in his role as wind-up merchant with such a dominating scoreline. His manager was less impressed, though, when he started doing kick-ups in his penalty area late in the game, immediately telling him to stop.

While Martinez's antics caught the eye, he was far from the only Argentina player who was unimpressed with Raphinha's pre-match antics. Alvarez admitted the winger's comments fuelled Argentina's performance, saying: "Obviously that manner of speaking adds some spice to a match like this. Thanks to our humility and work we played a great match. We danced around them"

Join the debate! Were Martinez and Argentina right to stick the boot in on Raphinha? Let us know here

Leandro Paredes also stuck the boot in, saying: "You shouldn't talk about it beforehand, you shouldn't say these kinds of things when you can't back it up on the pitch. When he said that, we sent it to the WhatsApp group and we discussed it. Whenever this kind of thing happens, we stand up for ourselves on the pitch."

Lionel Scaloni, however, was slightly more diplomatic when he was put on the spot over Raphinha's ill-judged comments.

The former West Ham defender, who has bossed Argentina since 2018, said: "I excuse Raphinha because I know he didn't do it on purpose. He's defending his country and I'm sure he didn't want to offend anyone. Brazil will always be Brazil, it's a difficult time for them but they will return."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.