[imagesource: Claudio Villa via Getty Images]

Last night, two giants of Italian football clashed in the Milan derby, with Inter Milan beating AC Milan 2-1 in the Coppa Italia quarter-final.

The real talking point was the ugly showdown between former Manchester United teammates Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku, with a physical altercation spiralling into a very personal war of words.

As the first half drew to a close, with AC Milan a goal to the good following Ibrahimovic’s 31st-minute strike, both players were booked, and the nastiness continued after the whistle and down the tunnel.

Ibrahimovic might be a superb footballer, who continues to produce the goods at the age of 39, but he’s also been known to overstep on-field boundaries, which appears to be the case yesterday.

First of all, the tension began to bubble:

Tensions rising between Zlatan and Lukaku in the Milan derby 😳 pic.twitter.com/mbPDw32yn3

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 26, 2021

If you listen closely below, you can hear Ibrahimovic telling Lukaku to “go do your voodoo shit, you little donkey”, as well as making remarks about the Belgian’s mother:

Zlatan and Lukaku are going at it 😳 pic.twitter.com/yMLFI72tiz

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 26, 2021

Following that, Lukaku lost the plot, and could be heard saying “f**k you and your wife. Let’s go inside, you little bitch”.

He may also be saying “I’ll f*ck you and your wife”, but have a listen for yourself, around the 30-second mark:

This fight between Zlatan and Lukaku went too far I think 💀 pic.twitter.com/Gjgbv1JEkf

— RiZzy🔴 (@RiZzyUTD) January 26, 2021

Towards the end of the clip, it also sounds like Lukaku threatened to shoot Ibrahimovic in the head:

Lukaku as he walked into the tunnel also added:

“You want to speak about my mother you son of a bitch? I’ll shoot you in your head”

— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) January 26, 2021

Yes, this one did go too far.

If you’ve ever read Lukaku’s superb 2018 article for The Player’s Tribune, titled ‘I’ve Got Some Things to Say’, you’ll understand why he didn’t take kindly to Ibrahimovic mentioning his mother.

Ultimately, Lukaku had the last laugh, as Ibrahimovic was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 58th minute. The Inter striker levelled from the spot in the 71st minute, before Christian Eriksen secured a 2-1 Inter win with a free-kick deep into added time:

WE’VE WAITED 3 LONG YEARS.
THREE YEARS FOR A FREEKICK GOAL!!!

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN HAS PROVIDED 💙💙💙💙💙💙 pic.twitter.com/NU9KozxrGO

— Uncle Sharma (@RSharmzz) January 26, 2021

I bet Lukaku really, really enjoyed seeing that hit the back of the net.

[source:skysports]