Ex-Man Utd defender Rojo escapes red card after 'cheap shot' left star in a heap

Former Manchester United star Marcos Rojo somehow stayed on the field for Boca Juniors despite wiping out his opponent in a brutal challenge on Saturday.

It's been an awful two weeks for Boca Juniors, as the Argentine giants have now lost three successive leagues matches, and they were also dumped out of the Copa Libertadores after losing to Corinthians on penalties. Frustrations are starting to show, and Rojo is no stranger to losing his cool.

During their 2-1 defeat to San Lorenzo, Rojo somehow stayed on the pitch despite clattering into his opponent after the ball had already been cleared. And even a VAR intervention spared Rojo while his opposite number picked himself up.

There was only a few seconds left to play when the incident occurred, with Rojo already accepting defeat after initially putting Boca ahead. Rojo scored after 26 minutes to take the lead away from home, but goals in either half from Agustin Giay and Adam Bareiro turned the tie in San Lorenzo's favour.

After finishing fourth last season, Boca are really struggling this time around as it seems as though both Argentine giants have fallen. Boca are currently 14th in the second phase of the Primera Division, with rivals River Plate just behind them as Newell's Old Boys lead the way.

Rojo joined Boca in 2021, after his seven year career at United ended, but he is so far yet to enjoy silverware at the club. Boca have 34 Primera titles to their name, but their last success came during the 2019/20 season.

Rojo's boyhood club was Estudiantes in Argentina, and his move to Boca caused a bit of a stir in his home town. Rojo had initially returned to his home town after leaving United, but then sealed a permanent switch to Boca instead.

The defender was signed for £16.5million at United back in 2014, as Louis van Gaal saw potential in Rojo after a successful season at Sporting Lisbon. And he featured consistently under the Dutchman, and also Jose Mourinho during his first season.

However, injuries majorly stalled his progression at United, keeping him out for the latter stages of Mourinho's second season in charge. Rojo only made nine appearances during the second half of Mourinho's stint, before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in.

There was still hope for Rojo, and United handed him a new contract in 2018 that would see him stay at the club until 2021. However, despite being told by Solskjaer that he was part of his plans, further injury and fitness issues meant that he couldn't impress under the Norwegian.

Rojo left in 2021, and has enjoyed a more consistent run back in Argentina. Rojo has already played half of the amount of league games he played for United in just 18 months, despite being at Old Trafford for seven years.

It was another example of a failed transfer for United, who have experienced near misses constantly over the past decade. Their recruitment hasn't been as strong as rivals Manchester City or Liverpool, and they're suffering the consequences.