You can't beat a bit of a ballboy controversy.
Being a ballboy at the top level of football is an important, yet understated, position. You can often forget they are there, but they can actually influence what happens on the pitch.
They can slow the game down or hand some quick attacking opportunities to the home team. The goal scored by Spurs in this campaign was a perfect example of the latter, as was Trent-Alexander's corner against Barcelona in the semi-final of last season's Champions League.
However, they can also get involved in controversy. We all remember the incident with Eden Hazard at Swansea a number of years ago, with Atletico Madrid producing something similar this afternoon.
They were hosting Leganes at the Wanda Metripolitano in a game that would ultimately finish 0-0. Despite this there was certainly no shortage of talking points, most of which involved the home side's ballboys.
In the second half, with Leganes launching a dangerous counterattack, it appears that one of the ballboys tossed a second ball on the pitch to try and get the game stopped. The replays clearly show that they were instructed by Diego Simeone to do so.
It only got worse from here.
With Leganes clinging onto a point late on, their goalkeeper Pichu Cuéllar employed some time wasting tactics. When he went behind the goal to retrieve a ball of the ballboy, he handed it back in attempt to waste some precious seconds.
When he did so a second time, he was pushed by the ballboy, going down dramatically clutching his face. The referee wasn't having the act, and handed the goalkeeper a second yellow card of the game.
Cuéllar then tried to waste even more time before leaving the pitch. This didn't go down well with the Atletico players, with a bit of a scrap breaking out as a result.
Todo comenzó con la expulsión del Pichu Cuéllar.
Después... Se le puede poner cualquier nombre: sainete, esperpento... #VamosEnJuego pic.twitter.com/2sc8ZjonhM— #Vamos por Movistar Plus+ (@vamos) January 26, 2020
😲 A truly bizarre finish at the Wanda Metropolitano!
🤪 Cuellar sees a second yellow card for time wasting, continues to stay on the pitch, and defender Jonathan Silva finishes in goal
😬 Still, it finishes 0-0, and it's another afternoon of frustration for Atleti pic.twitter.com/WqcNgB9dc6— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) January 26, 2020
Some craic all the same.
