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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Dan Marsh

Atletico Madrid star held back from fight with own fans as police forced to intervene

Atletico Madrid defender Mario Hermoso had to be held back by police and his teammates after trying to confront some of his own fans after his side were defeated 2-0 by Villarreal on Sunday night.

The Spanish outfit were shocked by Unai Emery's side, who run out comfortable winners courtesy of goals from Yeremy Pino - who has emerged as a transfer target for Arsenal in recent weeks - and Gerard Moreno. Atletico ace Nahuel Molina was also sent off to cap a miserable night for the Spanish giants, who had started the season in style with an emphatic 3-0 win over Getafe last week.

But things went from bad to worse for Diego Simeone's side after the final whistle when Hermoso was involved in ugly scenes with some of his own fans.

Radio Marca reported that the 27-year-old defender was warming down with teammates when a small number of disgruntled supporters who were still in the stadium made their feelings on the result clear. Hermoso, who was an unused substitute in the La Liga clash, was unhappy with what was said and appeared to confront some of the Atletico fans.

In a clip that has since gone viral on social media, Hermoso can then be seen trying to physically enter the stands to confront the shouting fans before he was restrained by a combination of stadium staff, teammates and police.

It has also been claimed that Hermoso's Atletico teammate, Renan Lodi, also hit back at the disgruntled home support by allegedly brandishing his middle finger in the fiery post-match scenes.

Join the debate! How do you think Atletico Madrid will fare under Simeone this season? Let us know here.

Hermoso was an unused substitute in Atletico's 2-0 defeat against Villarreal (Antonio Pozo)

Tensions were stoked in the closing stages of the match when Moreno celebrated his last-gasp strike right in front of the Atletico fans - an act that seriously riled the home support and was slammed by Atletico midfielder Koke when he spoke after the final whistle.

But Moreno hit back at that criticism and insisted that his emphatic celebration was driven by the fact that he had sealed the points for Villarreal rather than anything more sinister.

The striker explained: "Who knows me knows that I'm not disrespectful. If they've bothered you, I apologise. I understand your anger. If they take it like that, I can't do anything. I always celebrate goals like that and in that sense I'm very calm. I don't love him give more importance. I have no problem apologising. We won and I'm very happy.

"I'm happy because what mattered was the points. The goal was to win and we've achieved it."

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