Before Marouane Fellaini stepped out of the flames, incarnate as a punishment for the sins Manchester United fans have committed in the past, Zlatan Ibrahimovic tangled with Seamus Coleman, which led to the Irish captain being subbed through injury ten minutes later. Coleman suffered a rib injury, as a result of finding himself beneath Ibrahimovic as the Swede brought his full weight down upon him.
The clash was not without controversy, however, as Zlatan seemed to deliberately bring his boot down upon Coleman as he tried to get up.
Here it is in frame-by-frame form:
Gary Neville believed it was deliberate on Ibra's part, saying that he was lucky to get away with 'leaving one' on Coleman.
Zlatan, however, disputed Neville's opinion, bringing up the incident unprompted with MUTV to say that it wasn't deliberate. His method of doing exactly that was oddly threatening:
I heard one of the commentators say I kicked someone in the head on purpose, but it was a 50-50 duel and he pulled me down.
Trust me, if I want to kick someone in the head, I know how to kick someone in the head and make him fall asleep. That is the only thing I have to say.
If you would prefer to see the denial in video format, then lucky you. He addresses it from 1.36 onwards in the video below:
Coleman, meanwhile, alleviated concerns over any injury that may affect Ireland's game with Wales next March. Speaking to Newstalk's Nathan Murphy, he had this to say:
I'm not one to come off. I don't know the ins and outs of the injury yet. It's feeling much better now, after the game. I couldn't stand up straight and I couldn't run really, so it was a cause of using your head.
There's no point being brave and not being fit to play to your full potential, especially against a team like that, because you could be at fault for a goal. Your bravery would end up being stupid.
