A mass brawl broke out just moments before half-time in Chelsea's clash against Tottenham Hotspur. Shortly before the break, Levi Colwill collided with Micky van de Ven, denying the Lilywhites the chance to mount a later counter-attack.
Bemused by the decision, the Blues defender rose to his feet to plead his innocence. As Colwill approached the referee, he held the ball behind his back. Cristian Romero was far from happy with the 22-year-old's antics.
The Tottenham defender appeared to take a swipe at the ball and Colwill fell to the ground. Unhappy with Romero, Trevoh Chalobah suddenly burst onto the scene and the pair grappled one another, igniting a mass brawl.
They were eventually separated before Rodrigo Bentancur grabbed Chalobah's shirt. The duo then exchanged a few words from a distance before Craig Pawson showed yellow cards to the Chelsea defender and Romero.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Blues' clash against Tottenham, Enzo Maresca was quizzed on the importance of securing Champions League qualification. Chelsea fell out of the top four following Manchester City's win over Leicester City.
The Blues boss said: "If you are able to finish top four, top five, first of all it's fantastic for the fans, for the club because we bring this club where this club has been always there.
"But for the players it's also important because they can realise the work that they have done and they can build from them something for the future."
Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou was asked if players and staff at the club are scarred by previous Chelsea clashes. The Tottenham boss said: "They’re a talented squad, good manager. I still think they've had a positive season in terms of what they're trying to build.
"They've got some real talent in that attacking third. They obviously got hit by injuries as well and have had some key players missing which affects all clubs and that affected their consistency and results.
"As you said at their place, they're tough to beat and it'll be a good challenge for us," added Postecoglou. "I’m trying to separate what you just said there.
"We are not talking about the fans, that is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about the next challenge which is Chelsea. We understand the significance of the fixture.
"They are a good side, particularly at home. They are a tough team to beat. We are going to have to perform at our best to overcome them but it is a great challenge for us.
"As I said, we need to try to build some momentum into the rest of the season and finish in a positive way. Going to Chelsea we know we have to play well to beat them."
Then, on Spurs' disappointing away form in recent times, Postecoglou added: "Yeah I just don’t think you can get caught up with that. Our job, our role and our responsibility is to try and put in a strong performance tomorrow to win. That is it.
"You can’t get consumed by too many things that really are out of your control. They are out of our control how other people feel. What we can do is perform against a tough opponent tomorrow and try to gain some momentum leading into an important part of the season for us.
"That is where our focus and the players' focus has been..."
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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