After being the victim of a crunching tackle by Leonardo Bonucci during Sunday night’s Soccer Aid match, former England Lioness Steph Houghton has responded. Even though Wayne Rooney, Toni Duggan, and Jermain Defoe gave England an early 3-0 lead, they eventually lost 5-4 to the World XI.
Returning to Old Trafford, where he played on both sides of Manchester’s divide, Carlos Tevez led a spectacular comeback with four goals. Then, rapper Big Zuu scored a late goal to complete the victory. It was supposed to be a pleasant, lighthearted contest that raised £15 million for UNICEF’s work with children throughout the world. However, not everyone followed the plan.
Known for his tough defense with Juventus and Italy, Bonucci appeared to take things a little too seriously. Houghton charged into a hard tackle as the 38-year-old rushed into clear space down the right wing. View the incident below:
How Steph Houghton Has Reacted To Bonucci’s Crunching Tackle
They’ve since made friends and posted a picture together after the match
Another view of the event shows Houghton, who won the Women’s Super League three times with Arsenal and Manchester City and has 121 caps for England, still on the field while the referee stops play to see if she needs more medical attention. View the alternate viewpoint below:
She continued, and based on a picture posted on the former’s Instagram story, it appears that Bonucci and Houghton reconciled later. But the World Cup champion couldn’t help but make a lighthearted joke in the caption, which said (see below):
“She’s still alive!”
It was evident that there were no animosities between the Soccer Aid rivals when Houghton subsequently uploaded the tale on her own Instagram account (which you can see above) with the description, “My guy,” and liked Bonucci’s post.
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