Arteta left bleeding in mass dressing-room melee
Mikel Arteta, the Manchester City assistant coach, was left with blood running down his face after allegedly being cut above the eyebrow in an ugly melee involving players from both Manchester clubs.
Jose Mourinho was reportedly hit on the head with a plastic water bottle and had milk thrown at him by City goalkeeper Ederson. Eyewitnesses said that United striker Romelu Lukaku was another prominent figure in the skirmishes that spiralled out of control and required security staff eventually to intervene. The police were said to have looked on from a distance.
The brawl was thought to have begun when Mourinho went to the door of City’s dressing room to ask their players to show more respect amid apparent disappointment over the way the Premier League leaders were celebrating their 2-1 win, with music blaring from the dressing room.
He was then caught up in a furious argument with Ederson, with sources claiming the United manager also had water thrown at him. Mourinho and Ederson, a Brazilian, were believed to have been yelling at each other in Portuguese as the melee ensued.
The astonishing scenes evoked memories of the infamous Battle of the Buffet at Old Trafford in October 2004 when Sir Alex Ferguson was hit by pizza after United’s game with Arsenal turned ugly. Mourinho later accused City of being “protected by luck” after claiming his team were denied a “clear penalty” against their bitter rivals for the second successive season at Old Trafford. Ander Herrera was booked for diving by referee Michael Oliver after a challenge by Nicolas Otamendi in the 79th minute that Mourinho was convinced was a foul by the City defender. The Portuguese simmered with injustice after also arguing that United had been denied a penalty in their 2-1 home loss to City in September last year when Claudio Bravo dived into a challenge on Wayne Rooney.
“Manchester City are a very good team and they are protected by the luck, and the gods of football are behind them,” Mourinho said. “My first reaction is I feel sorry for referee Michael Oliver because he had a very good match but unfortunately he made an important mistake.
“It is like last season, exactly the same. You can speak about anything you want, you can bring any football theory, you can bring the stats, the ball possession, you can bring everything you want but, like last season, it is a huge penalty in a crucial moment of the game.”
“I would say Oliver had a very good game – his assistants the same. They came with the intention to make perfect work, which I think they almost did.”