- Trouble erupted during and after Manchester City's match against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
- Atletico's Stefan Savic grabbed an opponent's hair and clashed heads with another in the game's closing stages.
Police were forced to intervene after Manchester City's fiery match against Atletico Madrid in the
City produced a mature defensive display to hold Atletico to a goalless draw at the Wanda Metropolitano and progress to the semifinals, where it will face Real Madrid later this month.
Pep Guardiola's side had won the first leg at the Etihad Stadium 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Kevin De Bruyne.
As Atletico pushed for a late goal on Wednesday, tempers flared when Brazilian defender Felipe appeared to kick out at City's Phil Foden after a tackle, sparking a theatrical reaction from Foden.
As Foden lay on the ground, Atleti's Stefan Savic angrily tried to drag the Englishman up, resulting in a touchline fracas during which Savic pulled Jack Grealish's hair and clashed heads with Raheem Sterling.
Felipe was then shown a second yellow card for his kick on Foden before the trouble continued in the tunnel after the final whistle.
TV images showed Savic try to confront Grealish while Atletico substitute Šime Vrsaljko threw an object at Kyle Walker and had to be restrained by Atletico's coaching staff before police with riot shields intervened.
—SPORTbible (@sportbible) April 13, 2022
"The game can make you mad like that, when you're putting them under pressure and creating chances, and they're going down, wasting time," Atletico captain Koke said after the match when asked about Felipe's sending off and the trouble that followed, according to ESPN.
"It's football. We often get criticized for that, let's see what people think about it today."
Atleti manager Diego Simeone said he "didn't see" the incident in the tunnel and also denied that he sarcastically applauded City boss Guardiola in added time.
Guardiola had criticized Simeone for his side's defensive tactics in the first-leg.
"I didn't applaud the opposition bench, I applauded our fans," said the Argentine, according to ESPN. "Often, people with a large vocabulary are very intelligent, and they manage to praise you with disrespect. But those of us who maybe have a smaller vocabulary, we're not so stupid.
"Football has a lot of facets. I won't give my opinion on how the opponent behaved. We'll focus on us, playing against maybe the best team in the world, and realizing we could compete. But that doesn't make me happy, the only thing that makes me happy is winning."
City host Real Madrid in the first-leg of the semifinals on April 26 before travelling to the Santiago Bernabeu for the second-leg on May 4.