TROUBLE BROKE OUT in the tunnel as ugly scenes marred Manchester City’s Champions League triumph over Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Tempers had first flared in the closing stages of the match as City claimed a hard-fought goalless draw in the Spanish capital to reach the semi-finals with a 1-0 aggregate success.
The incident was sparked by a poor tackle from Felipe on Phil Foden and involved a number of players, notably unused City substitute Jack Grealish and Stefan Savic, who appeared to pull the England international’s hair.
Felipe – who caught Foden with a terrible challenge to the head in the first half – was sent off for his involvement but the rancour did not end there.
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TV footage showed problems continuing in the tunnel after the players had left the field. Players needed to be separated and objects were thrown.
Post-match Manchester City defender John Stones praised his team’s “incredible” composure in the tie.
“We know that they sometimes try and make things happen like that and we dealt with it really well,” Stones told BT Sport.
“It is not nice to talk about and I don’t want to dwell on it because over the two legs we played incredible against such an experienced side in what they do.
“We kept our tempers and it is easy to get drawn into stuff like that.”
He added: “We knew it was not an easy place to come, it is a hostile environment, it was a difficult night all round and how we defended and controlled ourselves over the two legs was incredible.”
Guardiola opted not to get involved in a war of words with his Spanish opponents.
When asked if he thought Atletico had gone too far, he said: ”Nothing to say.”
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Manchester City and Atletico Madrid embroiled in tunnel bust-up
TROUBLE BROKE OUT in the tunnel as ugly scenes marred Manchester City’s Champions League triumph over Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Tempers had first flared in the closing stages of the match as City claimed a hard-fought goalless draw in the Spanish capital to reach the semi-finals with a 1-0 aggregate success.
The incident was sparked by a poor tackle from Felipe on Phil Foden and involved a number of players, notably unused City substitute Jack Grealish and Stefan Savic, who appeared to pull the England international’s hair.
Felipe – who caught Foden with a terrible challenge to the head in the first half – was sent off for his involvement but the rancour did not end there.
TV footage showed problems continuing in the tunnel after the players had left the field. Players needed to be separated and objects were thrown.
Post-match Manchester City defender John Stones praised his team’s “incredible” composure in the tie.
“We know that they sometimes try and make things happen like that and we dealt with it really well,” Stones told BT Sport.
“It is not nice to talk about and I don’t want to dwell on it because over the two legs we played incredible against such an experienced side in what they do.
“We kept our tempers and it is easy to get drawn into stuff like that.”
He added: “We knew it was not an easy place to come, it is a hostile environment, it was a difficult night all round and how we defended and controlled ourselves over the two legs was incredible.”
Guardiola opted not to get involved in a war of words with his Spanish opponents.
When asked if he thought Atletico had gone too far, he said: ”Nothing to say.”
“I cannot talk about what other people do.”
-Additional reporting AFP
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Champions League Manchester City melee