Liverpool's 2-1 victory against Leicester City ended with a mini-brawl as Ayoze Perez had to be separated from Andy Robertson. New footage has emerged, showing exactly what sparked the fight between the two players.
While the match at Anfield wasn't a live broadcast, Sky Sports Soccer managed to catch the unexpected event at the end of Saturday's match. With the final whistle having been blown, Perez was captured on camera among several Liverpool players. Leicester players were then seen joining the fray to break up the fight, but at that time no one was sure what had triggered the reaction.
The footage below shows that the fight started with Robertson celebrating their victory brushing past the Spanish forward with an elbow nudge, who didn't take it well. Perez proceeds to push the Spanish captain in the back resulting in a heated exchange between the men, continuing in the tunnel as they left the pitch.
People calling that an elbow️. It's a slight nudge which Perez took way to far especially after Perez laughed in Robertson's face when they scored — Duncan (@AnfieldsAnthem) October 6, 2019
Fans who had watched the footage were left confused about the unfriendly exchange, with some saying that Perez took Robertson's nudge way too far especially after the Spaniard laughed in the Liverpool defender's face when Leicester scored.
Before the fight broke out, tension was already running high in what perhaps was the biggest test for the Reds in this season so far in the Premier League.
Liverpool's 100 percent record was almost beaten after the Foxes evened out the score in the 80th minute through James Maddison and looked to have earned a point. So at full-time, seconds after Milner had slotted home a controversial penalty winner, the Scottish left-back returned the favour to his opponent with a little brush of the elbow to go with it.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp later confirmed that what annoyed Perez was Robertson's celebration, saying, "Andy Robertson celebrated on final whistle and pushed [Perez], which he probably didn't expect, which he was annoyed at."
Leicester City gaffer Brendan Rodgers dismissed the incident as "nothing" but has admitted that the penalty decision was "difficult to take."
Liverpool's most recent win continues their perfect start to the season, scoring eight points clear of Manchester City, ahead of Pep Guardiola's team's game with Wolves on Sunday, heading into the October international break.
Once the break concludes, the Reds will make an appearance at Old Trafford to meet long-time rivals Manchester United.
