Jack Grealish has posted a message of support for his Manchester City teammates on Instagram after they saw off the threat of Atletico Madrid to book their place in the semi-final of the Champions League.
The most expensive British footballer in history failed to actually come on at any stage during the second leg but still found himself embroiled in the thick of things as tempers flared towards the end. The hosts were up to their usual tricks for much of the evening, but things turned notably sour once there was very little time to find what would have been an aggregate equaliser.
Kevin De Bruyne's solitary goal at the Etihad meant Atletico needed just one to force the tie into extra-time, yet that goal never came - instead, tensions reached boiling point as many of Diego Simeone's players started to lose control. Grealish focused on the victory in his message, writing: "Well done the boys! Through to the semis!"
The flashpoint for the drama came after Phil Foden was on the receiving end of a thunderous challenge from Felipe. Hurt by the force of the tackle, Foden was writhing around in agony before Atletico defender Stefan Savic proceeded to try and drag him off the pitch.
Inevitably, this sparked anger among the City camp who immediately rushed to the scene to try and defend their teammate. John Stones was in the middle of trying to calm Savic down before Grealish came over and appeared to hurl obscenities in the direction of the Montenegrin.
Savic responded by clenching a fistful of Grealish's hair, which led to more insults being exchanged on the pitch before referee Daniel Siebert eventually managed to get a grip on the tie. Felipe was subsequently red-carded for his challenge on Foden, much to his dismay.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Savic have been sent off for pulling Grealish's hair? Comment below
Things turned ugly yet again in the tunnel, however, as Savic made a beeline for Grealish while the £100million man was walking back towards the visitor's dressing room. Police were forced to intervene inside the Wanda Metropolitano tunnel to prevent further altercations between the two sets of players.
Grealish was not the only one in Savic's firing line, the defender could have also received his marching orders for a clear headbutt on Raheem Sterling. For reasons unclear, VAR did not intervene or ask the official to go and watch a replay of the incident.
City have reached the final four of European club football's most elite competition for just the third time in their history. Grealish is yet to truly have his defining moment in a sky blue shirt but could seal his place in the hearts of the Etihad faithful forever with a winner against Real Madrid in the last four.
