John Stones has admitted that it was hard for his side to control their tempers in a feisty clash with Atletico Madrid but proclaimed that they did well ultimately to keep their cool and earn a 1-0 aggregate victory. A mass brawl broke out between both sides towards the end of the game.

Manchester City travelled to Spain for their second leg quarter-final Champions League fixture at the Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday after holding a narrow 1-0 advantage. The English champions secured their place in the semi-finals of the European competition for the second consecutive campaign after a fiery scoreless draw against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Kevin de Bruyne’s goal at the Etihad last week proved to be decisive against the Spanish Champions who failed to find their cutting edge in front of their home fans. Atletico finished the match with 10 men following a second yellow card for Felipe for instigating a heated encounter between both sets of players in the final minutes. Their clashes continued into the tunnel following full-time, with police having to intervene.

The English side will now face Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition as they aim to balance crucial domestic and European fixtures. City defender Stones revealed that he was proud of his side for being able to withstand their pressure and control their tempers.

“We know they sometimes try and make things happen like that and I think we dealt with it really well. It’s not nice to talk about that. I don’t want to dwell on that because over two legs we played incredible against such an experienced team in what they do. I’m so proud of the lads of how we controlled our tempers. It’s so easy to get drawn into stuff like that. So happy to be through and a great night,” Stones told BT Sport.

“We definitely knew it’s not an easy place to come. It’s my first time here and it’s a hostile environment. It was a difficult night all round but how we defended and how we controlled ourselves was incredible,” he added.