Atletico captain claims Manchester City are to blame for ‘madness’

Atletico Madrid captain Koke has claimed that Manchester City were to blame for the ‘madness’ that overshadowed their Champions League quarter-final tie.

City advanced to the semi-finals 1-0 on aggregate with Kevin de Bruyne’s first leg strike enough to see them through.

Man City ‘cool heads’? They lost it against Atletico…

However, ugly scenes towards the end of the second-leg in Madrid marred the fixture, with clashes between the two set of players, coaches and staff occurring both on and off the pitch.

Atletico finished the game with ten men as Felipe was sent off for a second yellow card when he brought down City’s Phil Foden.

The challenge led to a mass brawl on the pitch as ex-City defender Stefan Savic attempted to drag Foden off the pitchy before altercations with a number of Pep Guardiola’s side.

He appeared to headbutt winger Raheem Sterling and was seen pulling the hair of Jack Grealish as all hell broke loose at the Wanda Metropolitana.

Once the on-field clash had been broken up, more ugly scenes followed after the full-time whistle as both sets of players went down the tunnel.

It all kicked off at the Wanda Metropolitano!

Felipe lashed out at Phil Foden and was eventually sent off, while Stefan Savić continued to lose the plot!

Chaos in Madrid! #UCL pic.twitter.com/MTYQeXxu9p

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 13, 2022

Croatian right-back Sime Vrsaljko was pictured attempting to take on a number of City players and staff as police tried to intervene.

However, Atletico skipper Koke believes City’s attempts to time waste and run the clock down were the blame for the melee.

Speaking after the game (quotes via Manchester Evening News), Koke said: “The match takes you to that madness when you see