New footage has come to light explaining further what really happened between Cesc Fabregas and Fernandinho on Saturday.
The Chelsea and Manchester City stars were involved in a physical scuffle as the Londoners defeated their title rivals 3-1 at the Etihad.
The unsavory scenes erupted when Sergio Aguero tackled Chelsea’s David Luiz dangerously as the pair raced for a ball.
Heated arguments, pushes and shoves engulfed what had been a thoroughly entertaining game up to that point, with managers and match officials having to
Fernandinho was shown a straight red card for grabbing Fabregas by the neck before pushing him over the advertising hoardings.
There were other players entangled in various altercations at that time, but it is the encounter between the two that got most physical.
As can be seen towards the end of the video above (seek to 8:39), Fernandinho was way too aggressive towards the Chelsea man and fully deserved his dismissal.
What many people might not know is that the Spaniard had provoked his rival by slapping him on the face before the Brazilian replied by flooring him. Check out the video below:
Fabregas slaps fernandinho, no wonder why he reacted #MCICHEpic.twitter.com/z2iSlyjdDD— Andrew Diab (@duradiab) December 3, 2016
By the time the violence erupted, it was already job done from a Chelsea perspective. It was extra time and the scoreline was 3-1 in favor of the visitors, with the home side visibly frustrated.
Asked about the incident, Man City boss Pep Guardiola apologized for the behaviour of his players but surprisingly defended Aguero, who he believes was not malicious in his high challenge on Luiz.
“It is a pity it finished like this,” said Guardiola in quotes carried by the Guardian. “It was the way the referee decided. It is a pity, I would like to apologise.
“[Fernandinho] went to defend his teammate.
“Both players were strong. Both players. He (Luiz) went down and he (Aguero) touched him. It wasn’t intentional.
“I don’t think [it was a red card]. Maybe I have to understand many things here, but the referee says red card, so red card. We accept that. It was a red card. OK, we are going to deal with that.”
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte had very different views from those of his counterpart. According to the Italian tactician, Aguero’s tackle was dangerous and was rightly punished by referee Anthony Taylor.
“This final [stage] wasn’t good. I hope only that Luiz is not injured after this tackle,” said Conte.
“It is very difficult to explain this final part of the game. I support the referee. It is important that the referee whistles and we ‘finish’ [do what he says].”
The dramatic win saw Chelsea maintain their stranglehold the #1 spot on the Premier League table while City, now 4th-placed, face at least three games without the suspended star duo of Aguero and Fernandinho.
source: sofascore.comsofascore.com
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