Jack Grealish has been nicknamed ‘Peaky Jack’ by some Manchester City team-mates after his bitter feud with Stefan Savic which started back in the first leg.
Grealish and Savic clashed for a second time in stormy scenes in the closing stages of Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final at Atletico Madrid. But Savic had Grealish in his sights in the first leg in Manchester when the £100million man came on as sub.
Grealish came up directly against Savic on the same side of the pitch after replacing Raheem Sterling. The Montenegro defender, 31, had a go at Grealish by telling him: “I’ll have you in Madrid”. Grealish responded that he was looking forward to the second leg and wasn’t afraid of anyone.
The row was a talking point among City players after the first leg which Pep Guardiola’s men won 1-0 from Kevin De Bruyne’s goal. Some team-mates have since dubbed Brummie Grealish ‘Peaky Jack’ in reference to the hit TV show Peaky Blinders about a tough gang set in Birmingham.
A 0-0 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in the Spanish capital in the return tie was enough to set-up a semi-final with Real Madrid. But the second leg ended in controversy late on as Phil Foden was taken out by Atletico's Felipe, who was later sent off for the challenge which sparked a melee.
Savic was in the thick of it after storming in to stand over Foden in a threatening manner. The subsequent melee involved around 20 players from both sides, during which Grealish insulted Savic who responded by pulling the England international's hair.
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The Atletico man was booked after a VAR intervention and then went to find Grealish in the tunnel after the match in order to try to renew hostilities. The furious stopper was only restrained by several club-mates as police also got involved.
It is not the first fracas and tunnel incident Grealish has been involved in this season. The City star clashed with rival Oriol Romeu in January after the Southampton player kept pinching him. The dirty tricks started from the kick off with Romeu setting out to antagonise Grealish.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl later revealed that Grealish “waited in the tunnel” to chat with Romeu after the full-time whistle. But Grealish has been cautioned just twice this season and Hasenhuttl added: “They had a conversation and everything is good.”
