Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo hit Pep Guardiola and called his tactics “football from history” after the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.
The leaders of the Premier League fought for a 0-0 draw at Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday to stage a semi-final clash with Real Madrid.
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Atletico’s players seemed disappointed with what they considered City’s attempts to break the time, as they defended the lead in the first game 1-0 and the club’s president criticized Guardiola for his game plan.
“We are a team that has a lot of status so that someone can insult us, but in the end it turned out that everyone has their own history,” Cerezo told Radio Marca.
“We played a good game, we attacked, and City played a prehistory yesterday, defending themselves and putting up a wall in front of their door to prevent us from scoring.
“Everyone has seen it. City was a completely defensive team. They shot at the door once in the second half. Yesterday it turned out that everyone has their own background.
Pep Guardiola clashed with Atletico Madrid players during their Champions League match. Photo by David S. Bustamante / Socrates / Getty Images
“It was a game that with a little bit of luck would have taken us to the semi-finals. We weren’t lucky enough to score a goal and reach extra time.”
After the hostile match, the police were forced to intervene after the two groups of players collided in the tunnel.
Tensions erupted in added time as Atletico defender Felipe was sent off for a challenge against Phil Foden, sparking a brawl that continued in the tunnel after a full-time whistle.
Television images show Stefan Savic trying to face off against Jack Grillish, who was previously photographed pulling City’s hair in the melee after Felipe’s red card. Substitute Sime Versalko had to be detained by Atletico’s coaching staff, and Kyle Walker was detained by goalkeeper Ederson before police set up to restore order.
Guardiola’s team returns to play on Saturday when they face Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley (LIVE broadcast at 10:30 a.m. ET on ESPN + in the United States).
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