Micah Richards and Jamie Carragher produced a moment of television gold as the former almost spat out his dinner during the riveting Champions League tie between Manchester City and Real Madrid.
City won the first leg of the semi-final 4-3 after 90 enthralling minutes at the Etihad which saw no shortage of individual brilliance or stunning goals. The hosts took the lead within two minutes thanks to a sublime diving header from Kevin De Bruyne, who latched onto an inch-perfect cross from Riyad Mahrez.
The goal sent home fans into frenzy, giving City the perfect start against the 13-time European champions as they aim to atone for their defeat in last season's final. Club ambassador and former defender Richards was equally thrilled - and a little bit caught unawares - in the CBS Sports studio.
Given the game had only kicked off seconds earlier, the ex-England international may have suspected he had plenty of time to have a bowl of pasta before any action occurred, having completed his pre-match punditry duties. However, De Bruyne finding the back of the net prompted him to break out into raucous celebrations which almost saw some of his dinner come back up as he bellowed: "Yes, yes, yes!"
The hilarious incident was not broadcast live but replays were shown as co-pundit Carragher drew attention to it later in the broadcast, leading to even more comical scenes in the studio. The Liverpool legend began to dissect how Richards was able to "control" his pasta and ensure it stayed in his mouth even when it looked destined to end up on the table in front of him.
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"This has to be analysed," Carragher joked. "When you talk about some of the technicians we've had on this show today, [Toni] Kroos, [Luka] Modric, Kevin De Bruyne, [Bernardo] Silva... no one produced a better first touch and control of a situation than Micah Richards with the pasta."
Amusingly, CBS cut back to a close-up replay of Richards' celebration and Carragher continued: "He thinks he's lost control but look at this! Forget your Luka Modric; we've got Micah! Big Mics is back!"
After the match, the 2005 Istanbul hero took to Twitter to warn City they have a tricky second leg awaiting them at the Santiago Bernabeu next Wednesday. Carragher wrote: "#ChampionsLeague at its best with the #MCIRMA game, Real Madrid are very lucky to still be in it! The defending was awful throughout especially from Madrid but #Benzema keeps them alive!!"
