The quarter-final second leg between Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, which was gripping in the final phase, was decided after 90 minutes – but still went into “extra time” in the players’ tunnel.
It was the 90th minute when emotions finally boiled over: Defender Felipe cleared Phil Foden on the touchline, the Englishman rolled across the turf (and back onto it on purpose), which completely infuriated Felipe’s sidekick Stefan Savic. The situation then escalated, prompting German referee Daniel Siebert to issue two yellow cards and a yellow-red card.
Twelve minutes were eventually added on before Manchester City finally got their hands on their coveted semi-final ticket. But even after the final whistle, players from both teams were still getting into each other’s hair. First on the pitch, then in the players’ tunnel. One particularly intense duel was between Savic and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish. The Atletico defender had already pulled the Englishman’s hair in the first leg, and again in the scuffle on Wednesday evening.
TV footage shows how it continued in the players’ tunnel: Savic tried to confront Grealish again. Sime Vrsaljko had to be restrained by Atletico supporters, as did Kyle Walker on ManCity’s side, with keeper Ederson holding him down. Then the police intervened to finally ensure order.
“A game like that can make you really angry when you put the opposition under pressure, create chances and they’re always on the ground wasting time,” Atletico captain Koke lamented. “Sure, that’s football. We are often criticised for it. Let’s see how people feel about it tonight.” For keeper Jan Oblak it is completely normal “that there are pushes and a few bad words. What happens in the game stays there. In the end it was good for City because it took time off the clock. “
Laporte speaks of “absurd arguments “
Sailing in the same vein, ManCity defender Aymeric Laporte spoke of “absurd arguments”. “We already know how they are and they do the same thing every time. They make a lot out of a little. But I think it was mostly negative for them because they had the best phase of their whole game,” the Frenchman said.
The Spanish midfielder Rodri openly admitted that the English were playing for time: “When you’re pressed at the back and there are still five or ten minutes to play, you fight with other weapons.” In principle, he is not a friend of that, but “occasionally” he is.
City beat Atletico with their weapons – and have to return to Madrid for the semi-finals. Record winners Real, who knocked out Chelsea FC after extra time, will be waiting in the final round.
