An infuriated Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller slammed Athletico Madrid as ‘the thugs of Europe’ in reaction to being booked in their 4-0 Champions League rout of the Spanish club.
The reigning European champions cruised to victory as they executed off the perfect defense of their crown despite facing stern opposition in their opener, with Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso among the goalscorers.
It was in the earlier onset of the game at the Allianz Arena that Bayern forward Muller flew into a rage after he went into the book following a foul on Atletico right-back Kieran Trippier, prompting the furious 31-year-old to hit out at Premier League referee Michael Oliver for handing him a yellow card, with the reference to Atletico being ‘the thugs of Europe’, as reported by AS.
The flustered German World Cup winner responded:
‘Are you kidding me? We are playing against the thugs of Europe and you give me yellow for that?’
Muller logged in an impressive shift for the Bavarian side, providing the assist for Coman’s second goal and Bayern’s fourth to seal a thumping win.
Atletico have long been saddled with a reputation for being an overly aggressive, tough-tackling side under manager Diego Simeone, which has obviously not gone down well with a number of rival teams coming up against them in LaLiga and Europe.
Hence it came as little surprise that referee Oliver generously handed out six yellow cards – four to Atletico and two to Bayern with the home side committing eight fouls compared to the visitors’ 13.
Bayern themselves were hardly bashful in showing plenty of aggression as they commandingly martialed the Spanish side out of the game and manager Hansi Flick was pleased with how his players ‘showed their face’.
‘It can be said that we have been very physical, especially against this team that plays the ball very aggressive, and it was very important to show our face and show our quality,’ he said.