Man City fans break goalposts and Villa keeper Olsen is attacked in pitch invasion

Pep Guardiola's side got off to a horrible start at the Eithad Stadium, trailing 2-0 before mounting a stunning late comeback to win 3-2 and against Aston Villa, pipping Liverpool to the Premier League title once again.

It was a momentous day for City and emotions were high, especially in the manner in which they claimed top spot.

The stands emptied and fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate, with pitch invasions becoming a huge talking point over recent days.

A Nottingham Forest fan was jailed for an attack on Billy Sharp, while there were also further incidents involving Everton and Crystal Palace.

And it's emerged that Olsen, who stood in for Emi Martinez between the sticks, was attacked as he tried to leave the field at full-time.

"Manchester City would like to sincerely apologise to Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who was assaulted after the final whistle at today's match when fans entered the pitch," City said in a statement.

"The club has launched an immediate investigation and once identified, the individual responsible will be issued with an indefinite stadium ban."

https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1528458304791490561

And on Monday, Greater Manchester Police issued a statement revealing two football fans have been charged for other offences.

"Phillip Maxwell (01/04/94), of Anzio Row, Knowsley, has been charged with throwing a missile (pyrotechnic) onto the pitch and will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on 23 May 2022.

"Paul Colbridge (17/08/84), of Whitegate Drive, Salford, has been charged with going onto the pitch and will appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on 7 June 2022.

"Both have been bailed ahead of the court appearances.

"Enquiries into the reported assault of a player on the pitch after the final whistle are ongoing with officers working in partnership with both football clubs."

Pictures showed the goalposts at the Etihad had been broken with talkSPORT host Adrian Durham describing the scenes as similar to when Scotland fans stormed the Wembley turf in 1977.

"Where Manchester City scored their three goals, the crossbar has been broken," Durham said. "It is like the Scots at Wembley in the 70s. The crossbar has been broken, it has been snapped away to our right.

"The pitch is being cleared, I think they realise there will be a title celebration. That's where the goals were scored. They probably want a memento.

"There's no indication it is hooliganism and violence or any trouble. It's just fans swinging on it and sitting on it. That has now snapped.

"The pitch is being cleared, I think they realise there will be a title celebration. That's where the goals were scored. They probably want a memento."

Micky Gray added: "They probably do. You don't want to put a dampener on someone winning the Premier League and how this Premier League has panned out.

"You talk about supporters coming onto the pitch, and we talked about it before this game actually, in front of me there was a boy who got barged over and was crying his eyes out. His father went over and got him away from the supporters who were around the young man.

"There was a lady steward, she got barged to the floor. It's a long season and I'm not being negative, but I'm keen to point out things I'd wished hadn't happened.

"We don't want to see that. We don't want to be talking about that. We want to be talking about a fantastic day for Manchester City.

"They are picking up the Premier League, back-to-back, but we have to highlight that."

Former Man United captain, Roy Keane, labelled fans who cause trouble 'scumbags' and worried for the safety of players and managers.

"It's disgraceful. It really is and I tell you what - a player or a manager is going to be seriously injured," he said.

"If you're mad enough to come on and punch a player, then you're mad enough to come on and do something silly like stab a player. Something crazy will happen. People have come back from Covid and forgotten how to behave themselves.

"Idiots, scumbags. It's a disgrace. We've seen it a couple of times at Forest and with Patrick Vieira. It's absolutely disgraceful."

Gary Neville added:

"We've obviously got far more children coming to the games, far more women coming to the games, and all of a sudden in these last few weeks and months, we've got these idiots not just running on the pitch but attacking players. What the hell are you doing?

"Running on the pitch is obviously delirious because City have won the league, so I get that, but attacking opposition players on the pitch - where has this come from? Why is it happening? I've got no idea. It's absolutely ridiculous."