H Metro

Tuchel’s post-match bust-up with Pepe

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CHELSEA boss Thomas Tuchel allegedly told Porto counterpar­t Sergio Conceicao to “F*** off”, leading to heated postmatch scenes after their Champions League quarter-final second leg.

The German coach would duly be confronted on the field by Porto captain Pepe as he celebrated seeing his side book their place in the final four of the competitio­n - despite falling to a 1-0 reverse in the second leg in Seville.

Mehdi Taremi’s 93rd minute winner for the Portuguese side on the night wasn’t enough to stop the Premier League side reaching the semi-finals.

And the two managers were seen in an awkward exchange at full-time.

TV footage showed the German barely stopping to greet a stony-faced Conceicao at full-time after congratula­ting his coaching staff.

Conceicao shouted angrily after the Blues boss, with the pair having previously clashed during the game when Porto were denied a penalty.

Players from both teams had to be separated as they clashed after the whistle, while Pepe could be seen angrily waving his finger in Tuchel’s face — who had been followed onto the field by an annoyed Conceicao.

Initially Pepe and Tuchel had greeted one another in a cordial manner, only for the mood to swiftly change and the finger pointing to begin after something was also said between the pair.

Tuchel attempted to placate the ex-Real Madrid defender, who was joined in his protests by Porto staff and Fabio Vieira, with the Chelsea chief seemingly protesting his innocence.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Conceicao said: “I was insulted by this man who is next door [Tuchel],” he said.

“I was telling the referee that the fourth referee heard those insults. That’s all.

“I don’t know why he reacted the way he did. I didn’t say anything to him during the game.”

The Chelsea boss downplayed the incident, stating simply: “It was just a little argument with me and their coach, and everybody was following me suddenly. “No harm done.”

While neither manager was saying much about the exact nature of what went on, Portuguese newspaper Record claimed that Tuchel told Conceicao to “f*** off” as they went to bump fists following the final whistle. UEFA will wait for the referee’s report to see if anything is mentioned by the match officials.

Tuchel’s men now prepare for Saturday’s FA Cup showdown with Manchester City at Wembley, with the German full of praise of N’Golo Kante after his second leg showing and with Mateo Kovacic set to miss out again. “It was very sad to see Kova yesterday after 20 minutes in training, to have this little muscle injury from more or less out of nothing,” said Tuchel. “He felt his hamstring, I was very sad for him, and also we don’t have so many experience­d players when it comes to the Champions League. Mirror.

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