Tyrone Mings grabs Mason Greenwood by scruff of neck after flashpoint in friendly

Mason Greenwood and Tyrone Mings angrily clashed in their pre-season meeting, with the ex-Manchester United man being grabbed by the neck. Greenwood’s current side Marseille took on Aston Villa in a friendly on Saturday evening.

But it ended up being an ill-tempered affair between the two sides. New signing Evann Guessand, Matty Cash, John McGinn, and Donyell Malen were all booked throughout the clash.

Tensions then boiled over late on between Greenwood and a couple of Villa stars. The striker kicked out at Belgian midfielder Andre Onana after evading a number of challenges.

That did not go down well with the former Everton man, who berated Greenwood, who then laughed in his face. Onana then pointed to his face as though the forward has spat at him, but it was unclear on whether he had actually done so.

Defender Mings then got involved as he grappled with Greenwood and grabbed the striker by the scruff of his neck. Numerous players then piled in as the scenes turned ugly.

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Tempers soon calmed but Greenwood was left with a ripped shirt and was shortly taken off of the pitch by Roberto De Zerbi - who was spotted arguing with Unai Emery on the sidelines.

Villa eventually fell to a 3-1 defeat to Marseille. Greenwood had scored in the first half, while Villa captain John McGinn also found the net.

But two strikes from returning forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secured victory for the French side. Villa round off their preparations for the new campaign on Sunday as they travel to Spain to take on Villarreal.

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Emery’s side commence their Premier League campaign against Newcastle in the Midlands in a week’s time. Meanwhile, Marseille are back in action on Friday evening as they take on Rennes in their first Ligue 1 game of the season.

Greenwood will be hoping to extend the hot form that he displayed last season. The former United forward struck 22 goals in all competitions last term.

He has been at the heart of considerable transfer interest this summer. Barcelona have regularly been linked with him, while he also reportedly has admirers in Saudi Arabia.

Greenwood has also made a major change when it comes to his international allegiances. Having previously earned one England cap, he is now set to represent Jamaica having been granted citizenship.

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