Manchester City and Atletico Madrid's Champions League quarter-final second leg descend into chaos after former Citizens defender Stefan Savic sparked a mass brawl by dragging an injured Phil Foden off the pitch.
Foden had been cynically brought down by Felipe in the dying embers at the Wanda Metropolitano, with the score still 1-0 to City on aggregate after their first-leg win last week. With the England international rolling around in pain, Savic darted over and manhandled him in an attempt to get him off the pitch.
His actions sparked a scrap involving players and coaching staff, with German referee Daniel Siebert handing Savic a yellow card and giving fellow Atletico centre-back Felipe his marching orders for a second booking. The Brazilian had been lucky not to see yellow for a tackle on Foden early in the first half but still left the field fuming. Savic then clashed with Jack Grealish down the tunnel after full-time, having pulled his hair during the brawl.
Before Siebert's whistle sounded, another melee occurred that saw Riyad Mahrez booked for time-wasting, as Pep Guardiola desperately tired to control his players who were hanging on with their slender lead. Diego Simeone, meanwhile, tried to rally his team for a late comeback and was even booked for his animated behaviour.
Rio Ferdinand lambasted Atletico's behaviour on BT Sport, declaring: "Some distasteful behaviour I thought we witnessed there from some of the Atletico players. They should be embarrassed with some of the antics, Savic especially. You have to say well done to the way they've played to be fair, Atletico.
"They made Man City play in a way we haven’t seen them play in a long time. Took them out of their rhythm, took them out of their stride. From a football perspective, they didn’t go through, but they made it difficult, but some of the stuff towards the end of the game, not what you want to see."
Joleon Lescott added: "Overall, Atletico did well in the second leg, but the last 10 minutes, can't condone it. To be honest, Simeone's got to take some responsibility because he seemed to encourage some behaviour. It's not a thing you want to see from a top level coach, an elite manager."
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As for the Citizens, they earned safe passage through the semi-finals and will face Real Madrid with the aim of reaching only their second ever Champions League final. The chaos eventually ended in the 13th minute of injury time, but City's night was far from perfect despite the job being done.
Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker are both forced off through injuries in the second half, two experienced players who could make the difference in their hunt of a historic treble. The Citizens will be sweating on the duo's progress with an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Saturday.
On top of that, City head into their last seven Premier League games of the season only one point ahead of the Reds, breathing down their necks in second places.
