Already miffed with having lost their first league game of the season on Monday night, the Manchester City players had to put up with some Europa-League bashing from the always classy Ashley Cole.
The controversial left back was keen to rub Chelsea’s victory in the faces of the City players and staff, who are believed to have got a bit rowdy in the tunnel over the manner of the 2-1 defeat, their first of the Premier League season.
Coming so soon after the Champions League exit, it turned out to be a particularly bad week for Roberto Mancini’s extravagantly overpaid squad and Cole wasn’t shy in kicking them while they were down.
The left back is believed to have shouted ‘Thursday nights, Channel 5’ in the direction of the City squad, repeating the taunt that was directed towards the City players by the Stamford Bridge faithful on Monday night.
He is also believed to have bellowed “Fu**ing have some of that” as the bout of handbags got a little out of proportion.
Frank Lampard played down reports of the tunnel bust-up after the game, saying: “Sometimes you get overheated. Big games, big players who want to win things on both sides, and there was a bit of frustration.
“I’ve been involved in that before but there’s general respect from both teams to each other.”
Speaking to The Star, however, an ‘eyewitness’ had a different take on proceedings.
“With the players squaring up and then others coming down the tunnel, it was just like watching cars pile up on a motorway,” the eyewitness said.
“It wasn’t anything serious but there was a load of shouting and swearing.”
Cole, of course, is no stranger to tunnel bust-ups, having been a chief protagonist in the infamous ‘Pizzagate’ scandal at Old Trafford in his Arsenal days. Classy performer to the last.
