Atletico Madrid vs Manchester City wasn’t exactly lacking in needle.
The stylistic clash between Diego Simeone and Pep Guardiola was always going to be a fascinating watch, but nobody quite expected the cocktail of defensive grit and tiki-taka passing to be quite so explosive.
But alas, things became very heated between the two sides as Atletico still trailed their Premier League opponents 1-0 on aggregate going into the final minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Ugly scenes at the Wanda
Guardiola was clearly feeling the pressure as he side held on for dear life in the Spanish capital, but any hope of Los Rojiblancos snatching an equaliser were surely extinguished by a late fracas.
With Felipe having wiped out Phil Foden for the second time in the game, the first incident having lef the City star with a bandaged head, the closing moments culminated in what was essentially a 20-man scuffle.
In chaotic scenes that were, frankly, hard to keep track of, Felipe was eventually given a red card for his second booking of the game, while Stefan Savic was also at the centre of attention for losing his cool.
Footage clearly showed the former City man pulling Jack Grealish’s hair in what was the tip of the iceberg in ugly scenes that you can check out down below:
It all kicked off at the Wanda Metropolitano!
Felipe lashed out at Phil Foden and was eventually sent off, while Stefan Savić continued to lose the plot!
Chaos in Madrid!#UCLpic.twitter.com/MTYQeXxu9p— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 13, 2022
Did Felipe deserve a red card for this challenge against Foden?
#UCLpic.twitter.com/c2Hk9kxt20— Wyngback Soccer
(@wyngback) April 13, 2022
Savic pulling Grealish’s hair, he does not rate him
pic.twitter.com/wbmGxnUm60— Alexei (@MUFC_redarmy99) April 13, 2022
Savic with Grealish.
pic.twitter.com/a8EGfkqzH4— Mu. (@FutbolMuu) April 13, 2022
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call a fracas.
And naturally, Simeone wasn’t exactly happy with what proved to be a chaotic end to the match with images emerging of him passionately confronting the referee upon the full-time whistle.
Diego Simeone with the referee after the final whistle pic.twitter.com/uiyFMDCCtI— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 13, 2022
An unsavoury end to a tense tie
It’s not exactly the way that UEFA would have wanted such a high-profile Champions League clash to be concluded, but there is always the risk of things kicking off when it comes to Atletico.
While City no doubt played a role in some of the unsavoury clashes towards the end, there’s no denying that the brand of football played by the Spanish champions was provocative at best.
And it didn’t seem to bother the Atletico fans in attendance that all the s***housery displayed by Simeone’s side wasn’t enough to secure the victory as they applauded their team after the final whistle.
For what the home team might have lacked in a finishing touch, they certainly made up for it with the kind of tactics and ploys that guaranteed the game would leave a sour taste in the mouth.
