When Williams angrily went for Eriksen only to hug him when he realised it was him

There was a lovely moment in the Premier League last season when Brandon Williams and Christian Eriksen clashed.

Williams, on loan at Norwich from Manchester United, was seemingly rugby tackled by Eriksen – then playing for Brentford – and his initial anger turned into a hug when he realised who had brought him down.

Eriksen had returned to England with the Bees for the second part of the campaign and were given a big boost in their hope of avoiding relegation with a 3-1 win at Carrow Road.

Just eight months earlier, the Denmark international had suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 and everyone was just pleased to see him playing again, including Williams.

The 21-year-old is highly-rated at Old Trafford and you could see why when he turned Eriksen in the middle of the pitch and galloped past him.

Eriksen’s response was to grab him around the waist and hurl him to the turf which, as you’d expect, caused an angry reaction from the defender.

Williams turned over and went to grab his tackler by the front of his shirt, and in that split second it was clear he was seeing red… until he realised who pulled him down.

His anger seemed to disappear immediately at the sight of Eriksen’s face, and his angry grab quickly turned into an awkward, lingering hug with both players picking themselves up off the pitch with a smile on their faces.

Explaining the incident afterwards he said: “We were on the attack and I was really angry so then I was going to hold him but then I know what he’s been through and it’s incredible what he’s done and he’s back now.

“It was something special for him to be back on the pitch for himself and to be involved, I felt he needed a hug.

“It’s something that no player wants to go through. It’s amazing that he’s back and he’s a top-quality player and I’m sure that he’ll get back to his best very soon.”

The two could now be teammates next season, with Eriksen – out of contract – reportedly agreeing to join United.

He had been linked with a return to Tottenham where he played for seven years before joining Inter in 2020.

As for the foul on Williams, he was given a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor, who, incidentally, was the man in charge on June 12 when he collapsed in Denmark’s Euro 2020 match with Finland.