Champions League: Atletico-Man City ends with players tunnel clash

TV footage appeared to show Atletico defender Sime Vrsaljko throw a bottle at a Man City player in the tunnel, before the police took charge of the situation.

Published : Apr 14, 2022 08:31 IST

Tempers flared in the closing stages as Atletico desperately tried to level the tie and force extra time following their 1-0 defeat in the first leg in England.
Tempers flared in the closing stages as Atletico desperately tried to level the tie and force extra time following their 1-0 defeat in the first leg in England.
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Tempers flared in the closing stages as Atletico desperately tried to level the tie and force extra time following their 1-0 defeat in the first leg in England.

There were scuffles on and off the pitch as Manchester City played out a nerve-wracking goalless draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday that secured Pep Guardiola's team a place in the Champions League semi-finals.

Tempers flared in the closing stages as Atletico desperately tried to level the tie and force extra time following their 1-0 defeat in the first leg in England.

Atletico defender Felipe was sent off after receiving a second yellow card before the teams played out 12 minutes of added time.

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Scuffles broke out among the players following Felipe’s dismissal for kicking out at Phil Foden and continued after the final whistle as the teams went down the tunnel, with the police having to intervene to restore calm.

TV footage appeared to show Atletico defender Sime Vrsaljko throw a bottle at a Man City player in the tunnel, before the police took charge of the situation.

Atletico players accused Man City of time-wasting in the final minutes, which the English club denied.

"Who were wasting time were their team, getting into absurd fights," City defender Aymeric Laporte said.

"We already know how they are and they always do the same. It's always ugly to see these fights, a lot of fuss is made with little... I think it was bad for them because they were in their best moment in the game."

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An angry Guardiola refused to answer questions about time-wasting, but City midfielder Rodri admitted that there are times when it is necessary.

"When you are locked behind and when there are five to 10 minutes left, we have to play with other weapons," Rodri said.

"I am not in favour of doing it throughout the game, but on occasions. What stays in the field stays there. It's a game with a lot of pressure and I don't really know what happened to Felipe, but it's not pleasant."

Guardiola relieved but Simeone unconvinced by praise

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was relieved that his team survived a nerve-wracking second leg, but his words of praise for the Spanish side did not go down well with opposite number Diego Simeone.

"They put us with our back against the wall," Guardiola said.

"It was like we have forgotten how to play, but it was all their merit. Today we are celebrating getting through, but by the second part we had, we easily could be eliminated."

The Man City boss blamed the fixture calendar and last weekend's Premier League match against title rival Liverpool for its lack of intensity in the second half.

"We came from a difficult game on the weekend with no time to prepare to this one," Guardiola said.

"I have a lot of respect for Atletico. They have a lot of merit in what they do. They can play how they want, I have never criticised Atletico's game and what Diego Simeone does he knows how to do like nobody else in the world."

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Atletico boss Simeone, however, was not convinced that Guardiola was being sincere.

"I have no reason to give an opinion about what someone says, good or bad. Very intelligent people with a great lexicon can, with words of praise, despise you. But we that have a lesser lexicon are not stupid," Simeone told a news conference.

"I am clear that we are proud of who we are, of how we compete. And I love seeing those who win celebrating it, because it shows once again that the important thing is to win."

Man City now will face the 13 times winner Real Madrid after it eliminated holder Chelsea.

"They are the Champions League kings, I'm looking forward to it," Guardiola told reporters.

"It is the third Champions League semi-final in our history and the second in a row, but if we play like we did in the second half against Atletico, forget it. We won't have anything to do against Real."

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