Newly crowned champions Manchester United hosted arch rivals Chelsea last Sunday in a game which even though was a dead rubber for the Red Devils, it was pivotal for the Blues.

They went to Old Trafford seeking a very important victory in their pursuit for a top 4 finish, and they did manage to beat United with a narrow 1-0 win, courtesy of a solitary Juan Mata goal in the 85th minute. However, according to Dailymail, what made the headlines in the newspapers the next day was what happened 2 minutes later between Chelsea’s Luiz and United’s Rafael.

United, clearly irritated by conceding a late goal, went into their aggressive physical mode. Luiz, sensing their urgency, provoked Rafael by fending off his challenge and inviting a rough foul from him. Luiz then went down cynically under Rafael’s ill-timed challenge right in front of the assistant referee, leaving the match official Howard Webb no choice but to give Rafael a straight red card and with it, his marching orders.

The cameras, though, caught Luiz smiling towards the United faithful while ‘writhing’ in pain, with his antics leaving United supremo Sir Alex Ferguson less than impressed. He expressed his unhappiness and disgust, which was directed towards Luiz in his post-match press conference.

That incident has created quite a buzz in the English press, however the Brazilian international has now revealed the reason behind his smile – it being that he directed that towards the United fans, who have been calling him ‘Sideshow Bob’, a famous character from ‘The Simpsons’.

Luiz has been subjected to name calling by a majority of the rival team’s fans since his move to English football, given the similar hairstyle of the two. Thus, he felt that a small payback was in place for the fans mocking him.

Though this incident will subside in the near future, what will be interesting to see is that how the United fans will act when he visits Old Trafford the next time. Will the mocking stop, or will they go in to overdrive and mock him further?