After three goals in five minutes, Manchester City went from 0-2 to 3-2 against Aston Villa, and in the same title secured generous league gold.
After the match, thousands of City supporters stormed the pitch, and the stars had to be removed from the pitch amid cheers.
– Hard to believe
In the midst of the chaos at the Etihad Stadium stands a 31-year-old Norwegian man. He is a sworn Manchester City supporter and has a season ticket at home to City.
The track storm on Sunday was the first time he’s been involved in something like this.
– The scenes in the stadium and the pitch are absolutely insane. Everything changed so fast, the whole stadium shook. It was complete chaos and madness. There’s a lot of emotion in the swing, he told Dagbladet.
The 31-year-old wished to remain anonymous as track raids are illegal, and told Dagbladet the act was spontaneous.
“I didn’t think about it, but I reacted at that moment and stormed the pitch with another fan,” he said.
– The atmosphere in the stands and courtyard is absolutely crazy. The fight just went from desperation to euphoria, he continued.
On the pitch, the 31-year-old took what he described as a “big impression”.
– The song, atmosphere and cheers are absolutely magical. I had never been to the page before, so it was something really special.
– Troubled
Dagbladet had seen video footage of the celebration itself on the grass, but apart from the wild cheers, it also proved why raiding tracks was illegal.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen is attacked as the pitch is stormed. TV pictures show how the attack took place. Several supporters ran towards Olsen and jumped at him. Olsen was then assisted by security officers to leave the field.
Manchester City posted the following statement on their website following the incident:
“Manchester City will deeply apologize to Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who was attacked after the final whistle today as the fans entered the pitch.
The Norwegian track stormer is aware that what he is involved in is illegal, but finds it foolish that individuals should destroy a storm of spontaneous excitement by attacking players.
– It’s unfortunate and problematic that some people should be angry at such a time, but City fans take their distance from such behavior. Those people deserved to be punished, he believed.
– I didn’t catch what happened when I was in the field. I first found out about it when I watched the news later on. But of course such an incident should not happen, he continued.
– Protect the players
The 31-year-old said he was not in touch with any of Manchester City’s heroes while he was on the pitch. TV pictures showed a team of guards at regular basketball with fans eager to touch their heroes.
– I came down quite late compared to the first spectators to storm the field. Security guards protect the players quickly, so I’m never really around. I just quietly walked around the yard and enjoyed the moment.
Furthermore, he described the fans as very committed and loyal to the club.
– You react violently at times like that. City must always make things difficult for themselves. I almost lost faith at 0-2, but then the “impossibility” happened again. We didn’t make it easy for ourselves, but it’s great that they secured league gold.
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