Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta was on the receiving end of a huge shoulder barge from Zlatan Ibrahimovic during Spain’s World Cup qualifier with Sweden on Sunday.
Spain were able to seal top spot in Group B after a late Alvaro Morata goal secured a 1-0 win over Sweden at the Estadio de La Cartuja.
Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, was fortunate to escape punishment after the former Manchester United player floored Azpilicueta with a nasty shoulder barge during a corner in the closing stages of the match.
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Azpilicueta clearly felt the impact of Ibrahimovic’s barge as the Chelsea captain stayed on the ground for some minutes.
But the AC Milan striker had acted like he had been pushed into Azpilicueta by another Spain player in the game.
The incident went unpunished and did not even appear to be reviewed by VAR for dangerous play from Sweden star Ibrahimovic.
NOOOO ATROPELLARON A AZPI ?????? pic.twitter.com/8Dw5wysLcr
— Falcons (@Falcons) November 14, 2021
In a short reply to a post on Twitter which showed a clip of the incident after the matcg, Azpilicueta wrote ‘all good here’ and uploaded a picture of himself smiling.
The result means Spain have now automatically qualified for next year’s World Cup, while Sweden now have to go through the play-offs.
‘Today has been a very beautiful day,’ said Spain head coach Luis Enrique.
‘We have suffered a lot, but the players have had faith and have taken their fair prize.
‘They are an excellent group. Not only the 25 who are here but all those who have been coming. We are already in the World Cup. To be honest it has taken a big weight off my shoulders.’
