BRISTOL CITY'S 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United ended in ugly scenes as George Tanner's shocking red card challenge on James McAtee led to a mass brawl.<br /><br />Nigel Pearson's side were becoming increasingly frustrated in the sixth minute of added time as the Blades moved towards victory in the Championship match at Ashton Gate.<br /><br />And their anger boiled over when Tanner's horrific late tackle sent McAtee flying.<br /><br />It was a dangerous lunge which left the Sheffield United man down injured on the turf.<br /><br />McAtee's team-mates were furious with Tanner as both sets of players embroiled themselves in an angry altercation.<br /><br />And while Bristol City boss Pearson admitted after the match that it was the correct decision to send Tanner off, he also claimed the game was already out of control.<br /><br />Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "What I said when I came off the pitch I don’t like it when the officials don’t give us true information in how long there is in the game.<br /><br />"The sending-off is a red card there is no doubt about that but I would suggest also that in the lead-up to that the control in the game was lost.<br /><br />"They wasted time very well, congratulations to them for doing that.<br /><br />"I would be happy if my team was able to sort of run the clock down in that way too."<br /><br />The result sees Sheffield United move up to third in the Championship, three points behind league leaders Burnley and just one off second place Blackburn.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Bristol City are down in 14th after a run of three games without a win.<br /><br />The division is incredibly tight after nearly three months of the season, with just nine points separating the play-off places from the relegation zone.
