Patrice Evra has recalled his notorious fracas with a Chelsea groundsman, insisting he «got lucky.»
Manchester United substitutes, including Evra, were warming down after the full-time whistle at Stamford Bridge in 2008.
Tempers boiled over with Chelsea groundsmen who were sharing the same patch of the pitch, and a regrettable incident ensued.
«I think I got lucky,» Evra told The Telegraph. «I saw a picture of him. He was such a beast.
«When I was with France a few weeks later Nicolas Anelka and [Florent] Malouda said to me, ‘Patrice, we see this guy every day. He’s massive. Were you sure about that?’
«I said that I wasn’t sure, I just went straight for him.
«Scholesy said afterwards, ‘Any time I go to the pub, I’m going to take you with me.'»
The FA even asked for CCTV footage of the scuffle which took place after Chelsea beat Man United 2-1 in the Premier League.
Evra was rested amid the Champions League semifinals where United defeated Barcelona.
«[Sir Alex] Ferguson, in front of everyone, started the meeting like this,» Evra remembered about the Barcelona fixtures.
«‘Oh guys, today it’s an important game and if we lose it’s because of Patrice.’
«We looked at each other and I was thinking, ‘Okay this is a lot of pressure.’
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«Ferguson said: ‘Patrice, I don’t care about [Lionel] Messi being the best football player in the world, whatever. If we lose — if we don’t keep Messi quiet — I am going to blame you.'»
United won the Premier League and the Champions League in 2007-08 leaving Evra with no regrets whatsoever from what happened on the pitch.
The scuffle with the ‘beast’ groundsman, though? That one could’ve ended differently, and there is no word about whether Paul Scholes ever took Evra to the pub with him.
