The drama spilled off of the pitch
Following Manchester City’s intense victory over Atletico Madrid, footage has surfaced that illustrates how chaos poured into the tunnel after the match.
On Wednesday, City secured themselves in the Champions League semi-finals after they battled Atletico Madrid to a 0-0 draw. While the game was tense throughout, the closing minutes were considerably more drama-fueled, with tensions following players into the tunnel.
Arrest savic !!! https://t.co/VLx8c0rnmW
— eŵân (@ewan10i) April 13, 2022
At the 90-minute mark, Atletico’s Felipe, 32, was seemingly the spark that lit the flames. After challenging Phil Foden, 21, the Brazilian centre back was supported by 31-year-old Stefan Savic. He then attempted to drag Foden back onto the pitch, which naturally prompted everyone on the field, including substitutes and members, to get involved.
Savic looked to be at the centre, with many eagle-eyed fans suggesting he may have headbutted Raheem Sterling before tugging at Jack Grealish’s hair. Felipe was consequently sent off but Savic narrowly escaped with only a yellow card.
lmaooooo @JackGrealish “you’re a cunt” pic.twitter.com/mzrG0eSsmj
— tom (@_Bish___) April 13, 2022
The final nine minutes of injury time were played but reports suggest that Grealish and Savic were involved in an altercation off the field. RMC Sport captured the moment tempers flared in the tunnel with Grealish and Savid having to be separated by Ruben Dias – however more players entering the other end of the tunnel spelt trouble.
Contrasting emotions in Madrid!
Manchester City celebrate reaching the last four of the competition, while Atlético berate the officials.
Professional performance from Pep Guardiola's men 👏#UCL pic.twitter.com/tLlvGN9wOW
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 13, 2022
Substitute Sime Vrsaljko appeared to throw a bib at City players, hitting Aymeric Laporte, and then needed to be restrained. Ederson and Romeo Lavia were seen dragging Kyle Walker away from the drama. Moments later, police enter in an attempt to disperse the action.
“Grealish was walking down the tunnel and Stefan Savic caught up with him,” explained BT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher, as reported in the Manchester Evening News. “All of a sudden there was a commotion at the mouth of the tunnel and people just ran to that area.”
https://twitter.com/sportbible/status/1514351308211376134
He continued: “The two players disappeared from my view but very quickly after four police officers came charging to that area as well.
“I couldn’t tell you exactly what happened, but Savic was involved again. Grealish was trying to leave the field and it was another very unsavoury incident here. Symptomatic of what we’ve seen over the last 15 minutes.”
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