Pablo Zabaleta Slams West Ham Teammate Andy Carroll After 'Nasty' Elbows Lead to Red Card

West Ham United defender Pablo Zabaleta has slammed teammate Andy Carroll after the Hammers' relinquished a 1-0 lead in the final five minutes against Burnley - with them having to play the majority of the clash with 10 men. 

The Claret and Blues took the lead midway through the first half thanks to Michail Antonio, however could only settle for a point at Turf Moor as Chris Wood equalised inside the final five minutes. 

Things could have been different, however, if the Londoners were not forced to play for over an hour without line-leading Carroll, who received two yellow cards within 10 seconds of each other for a duo of elbows. 

The 28-year-old striker seemed to take leave of his senses after being booked for his aerial duel with James Tarkowski moments previously, with the former Newcastle United and Liverpool man then clattering into Ben Mee and being sent for an early bath just before the half-hour mark. 

The Englishman's decision to put his side's lead in jeopardy was one not well received by Zabaleta, who branded his teammate's decisions as 'nasty'.

"I think Andy’s challenges were a bit nasty", the 32-year-old right-back told The Sun. 

"Andy is a big man. He always goes 100 per cent for the ball in the air.

"From my point of view, it looks aggressive, especially the second one when he knew he was on a yellow already.

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"We need to try to play 11 v 11 for the whole game, especially when you are winning 1-0.

"You can’t give an advantage to the other team.

"We were 1-0 up and we need to be a bit more clever in these situations."

Despite his heavy presence in attack, and his perception of sometimes being slightly  overzealous with aggression, this is only the second red card Carroll has received throughout his Premier League playing career. 

However, West Ham boss Slaven Bilic will certainly be frustrated with his striker's on-field decisions, considering he will now miss the Hammers' must-win clash with Brighton & Hove Albion at the London Stadium on Friday.