Crystal Palace man Jefferson Lerma has now opened up on his relationship with Joachim Andersen after the two engaged in an on-field battle last season.
Joachim Andersen and Jefferson Lerma are two of Crystal Palace‘s most important players right now – however, there was a time when the two battled.
Back in May, Andersen and Lerma got into a tussle as Crystal Palace had a corner against Lerma’s previous side Bournemouth.
Jostling for positions, Andersen appeared to punch Lerma which resulted in the Colombian having a broken nose as per Gary O’Neil speaking to Sky Sports.
No VAR action was taken and Andersen escaped punishment. However, it would be safe to assume that upon Lerma joining Palace, the beef would have been squashed as his announcement came in a comedic way.
Lerma was photographed wearing boxing gloves a clear jest to the situation. “It was kind of a joke, to make the signature moment a bit of fun,” Lerma laughed to club media.
Now the Colombian has shared his latest views on the incident.
Jefferson Lerma on Joachim Andersen incident
In a recent interview, Lerma continued to expand on the incident between the two now teammates.
“What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch. Maybe the crowd felt the incident was more dangerous than it was. We’re teammates now. We’re obliged to defend our jersey.
“We have a nice friendship; we defend the same colours. It’s now an anecdote, an experience we both shared. Now, we must fight our rivals to defend our team.”
The fact that they’ve put the incident behind them shows a remarkable professional attitude. Also a scary proposition for the opponents they face that two players so tough are on the same side.
Two players who are vital for Palace
Andersen joined Palace for £15m back in 2021 from French side Lyon and has since been an absolutely pivotal part of the defence at Selhurst Park.
Meanwhile, it was only this past July that Lerma made the move to Selhurst Park for free.
Now both are very important parts of this current Roy Hodgson team and are the type of talents who could be incredible for years to come under potential new managers.
