The Chelsea vs Arsenal match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday was an explosive encounter throughout, with players, managers and fans losing their cool several times during the match.
There were several incidents which boiled over and went above the usual tackles and tussles which happen during a derby, including Arsene Wenger's push on Jose Mourinho, Gary Cahill leaving a mark on Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck's challenge on Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere giving a mouthful to compatriot and Chelsea captain John Terry.
However, there was another incident which the commentators and match analysts completely missed - Sanchez's attempted punch on Branislav Ivanovic.
Three minutes before halftime, with Chelsea leading 1-0, the Chile international threw a punch at Ivanovic after the Chelsea defender tackled the Arsenal forward and took the ball from him. Sanchez is seen throwing a right hook at the back of the Serbian's head but pretty much misses and falls down.
Had Ivanovic chosen to go down for that, it could have meant trouble for Sanchez and Arsenal as the referee could have even shown the Gunners forward a straight red after communicating with the fourth official (pretty much like the Zinedine Zidane-Marco Materazzi incident in the 2006 World Cup final).
However, Ivanovic, who has a reputation for being a defensive rock, barely moved as Sanchez's punch hit his back and went on to pick the ball for a throw in, which helped the Arsenal star escape any disciplinary action from the referees. Had it been someone else, like Oscar or Ramires - who are known for their theatrics, in place of Ivanovic - Sanchez would not have gone scot-free.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Ivanovic has fallen prey to temper issues of a South American forward. Towards the end of the 2012-13 season, Liverpool and Uruguay talisman Luis Suarez bit the big Serbian's arm in a match at Stamford Bridge, in a now-infamous incident.
Suarez, who escaped any action from the referees at that time, was later found guilty by the FA who then banned the player for 10 matches. So now that this incident has also come under the spotlight, will the FA have something to say?
