MY ACCOUNT
Diego Simeone was satisfied his Atletico Madrid players gave “everything” they had as they exited the Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of Manchester City on Wednesday.
The LaLiga side put in a spirited second-half display at the Wanda Metropolitano, yet a goalless draw meant they suffered a 1-0 aggregate defeat.
The tetchy match spilled over in the closing stages, with both sets of players clashing after Felipe’s foul on Phil Foden – a challenge that saw the defender receive a second yellow card.
Simeone was also booked in stoppage-time after entering the pitch in an apparent attempt to calm down Stefan Savic, who was involved in running battles with City players throughout the game.
The ugly scenes continued in the tunnel after the game as videos circulated on social media showing the players being separated by police.
Simeone did not want to be drawn on the controversy, instead hailing the efforts of his side and the contribution made by the home crowd, who gave the players a rousing reception at full-time.
“The reaction at the end shows the pride of seeing a team that competes,” he told Movistar. “It gives us the peace of mind that we have given everything to get through the tie.
“The crowd was enormous throughout the match. The team responded to what the people were looking for and that relationship is difficult to see in the stadiums, that people respect you after being eliminated.
“What is clear to me is that we are proud of who we are, of how we compete. We are out and it hurts, but I love seeing people celebrate when things go well and not so well.”
Asked if his attempts to encourage the crowd to clap in the closing minutes was in response to City’s perceived time-wasting, Simeone said: “No, please. I was applauding people because I was appreciating the effort the team was making. How can I not applaud people like that?”
The result means Atleti are now winless in their past eight home games in the Champions League.
However, goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who only had one save to make on Wednesday, believes Atleti did enough over the two legs to progress to the last four.
“It’s a shame,” he said. “We made a great effort, a great match, we deserved more. We are disappointed, but we did everything we could to score and win the match.
“In the first game, they were better and in the second, we were better. If you put the two games together, we’ve had more chances. In the end, it wasn’t enough to go through to the semis.”
