Elliott's loan nightmare gets worse as Valencia manager slams his 'absurd' red card

Valencia manager Javier Aguirre slammed Harvey Elliott for his "absurd" and "ridiculous" red card in their defeat by Villarreal.

Valencia are mired in a relegation battle in La Liga and their 2-1 defeat on Saturday twisted the knife further. Aguirre's side took the lead through Pepelu's first-half penalty before Alex Freeman equalised for Villarreal.

Pape Gueye's sending off appeared to have handed Valencia a huge opportunity to pick up just their second league win of the season. But Liverpool loanee Elliott was dismissed in the 89th minute after picking up quickfire yellow cards, making it 10 vs 10 in the closing stages.

Elliott, who only came on as a 69th-minute substitute, was booked for a foul before appearing to be shown a second yellow card by the referee for dissent. Georges Mikautadze then delivered the knock-out blow in the 96th minute as Villarreal left the Mestalla with all three points.

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Elliott was a high-profile loan signing for Valencia in the summer, but is yet to contribute a goal or an assist in six appearances this season. His red card left Aguirre absolutely fuming and he didn't hold back in his post-match press conference.

"It’s an absurd, ridiculous sending-off," he said. "I don’t know what he could have said to the referee, he barely speaks Spanish, so getting sent off for something he said just makes me angry.

"It’s a ridiculous dismissal, and I told him as much. It’s not his fault; the fault is mine, though I’ll address it with him privately. Ultimately, the responsibility is mine, because I’m the one who decides who plays and how we play."

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He added: "We were in a solid position and it was 11 against 10, but the sending-off disrupted everything. We ended up playing an all-or-nothing, wide-open game."

Elliott had a nightmare 2025/26 campaign, having sat on the sidelines after leaving Liverpool for Aston Villa on loan. Villa opted not to play the 23-year-old midfielder in order to avoid triggering a £35million obligation to buy clause.

He joined Valencia this summer after speaking with Carlos Corberan, but the ex-West Brom manager has already been sacked following a miserable start to the season. Things haven't improved for him or the team under former Mexico boss Aguirre.

Valencia have taken just six points from 10 matches so far and sit 19th in La Liga. Elliott, meanwhile, has only played 152 minutes of football, with the Spanish press suggesting last month that he is overweight.

The midfielder is under contract with Liverpool - where he has 15 goals and 21 assist in 149 games - until June 2028 and is desperate to rediscover some form. But unfortunately Saturday's red card is another misstep in his faltering career.