Stefan Savic, who sparked an unsightly brawl towards the end of Atletico Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final tie with Manchester City that carried over into the tunnel, has been warned by former Blues star Shaun Wright-Phillips that he is in “the wrong sport” if he cannot handle a bit of name calling.
Tempers boiled over late on during another feisty continental clash between Premier League and La Liga heavyweights, with Felipe being shown a red card before Savic appeared to push his head into that of Raheem Sterling after initially trying to remove an injured Phil Foden from the field.
The ex-City defender did not stop there as he went on to pull the hair of Jack Grealish, who hit back with a volley of expletives, and Wright-Phillips says the Spanish title holders let themselves down in a show of emotion which left them looking like “sore losers”.
Did Atletico Madrid take things too far against Man City?
Quizzed by GOAL on the chaotic scenes which marred a 1-0 aggregate victory for City that has carried them into the semi-finals of elite European competition, Wright-Phillips – who was speaking in association with Lord Ping – said: “Those sorts of games will always be feisty, but there is a way to handle it.
“Jack handled it perfectly for me, just called him a name. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. If it wound Savic up, then it’s more fool him. He should know that old saying ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me’.
“If he can’t live with that then realistically he is in the wrong sport. You get that at every away stadium you go to, that abuse. It’s just football, it’s part and parcel of it.”
Did Man City come out of the game with credit?
While certain members of Pep Guardiola’s squad found themselves caught up in a post-game melee, with police officers seeking to intervene at one stage, the Blues were able to keep their cool and leave Wanda Metropolitano with their dignity intact.
Wright-Phillips added: “It’s an emotional game. Once you are emotionally invested in it, sometimes you do lose your way. But I thought that City handled themselves well and correctly.
“I saw a comment from Koke on the ‘gamesmanship’ – there was no gamesmanship, he [Felipe] has clearly kicked him [Foden] and if he looks back at the replay he will clearly see what happened. And it’s from a player that should have been sent off in the first 30 minutes, but got away with it.
“I don’t think the ref handled the game particularly well and he could have put a lot of fires out before they started.
“I think they kept their cool and their professionalism. That was bad form from Atletico Madrid, they just looked like sore losers.
“In the game at the Etihad they did the same thing, started kicking people. We have gone to their place and kept a clean sheet, no matter how much they threw at us. They did have stages in that game, which was to be expected, but City professionally batted them away and did what they had to do.
“To see that at the end of the game, it kind of spoiled what City had achieved because it’s what everyone keep talking about – that whole crazy scene.”
With City having moved a step closer to Champions League glory in Madrid, their attention can now be shifted back to domestic matters.
After playing out a 2-2 draw with fellow title hopefuls Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend, an immediate reunion with the Reds will be taken in on Saturday when two ambitious outfits lock horns in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
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