Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has expressed pride for his side’s trip to the Champions League semi-final, where they lost against Arsenal on Tuesday night. Yet Simeone also hinted that he felt they should have had a penalty, and were a little short on resources.
One of the issues for Atletico Madrid was their inability to take their chances, and Simeone lamented that his team did not take a lead to the Emirates from the first leg.
“If we were eliminated, it’s because our opponent deserved to advance. They were clinical in the first half and earned their place. But what I feel is tranquility, peace; the team gave everything they had. We could have won the first match in the second half, but we weren’t as decisive as the game demanded. Today, we improved defensively in the first half, but we offered little offensively.”
“We improved in the second half, creating a few chances that could have gone our way, but they didn’t, and we reached a place no one expected. We competed against an incredibly powerful team, and with our own strengths, we fought as hard as we could. I’m grateful to our fans, our players, and I’m proud to be where I am. I said in the stadium during preseason that we were going to compete, and we did. Unfortunately, we didn’t win anything, that’s true, but we reached places that aren’t easy to reach.”
One of the more controversial moments was the decision to give a foul against Marc Pubill on Gabriel Magalhaes around the hour-mark. It prevented an almost certain penalty from being given on Antoine Griezmann.,
“I’m not going to dwell on something as simple and easy as the play involving Griezmann. It’s very clear, and we understand that it was a foul by Pubill on one of their players. We believe he was correct in that situation. I’m not going to dwell on it because that would be making excuses, and I don’t want to make excuses for anything.”
Beyond missing their chances, Simeone noted that the ‘little details’ didn’t go Atletico Madrid’s way.
“In the first leg, we had chances to score and didn’t take them. Here, in the second half, we improved, we got more into the game, we played in their half, and we created opportunities. All those little details that sometimes go our way, this time they didn’t go our way.”
Simeone also seemed to make several references to Arsenal’s much larger budget, and perhaps Atletico’s more meagre resources.
“It’s part of football; we all know that when those minutes arrive, we want time to pass quickly. Arteta’s work is incredible, and they have significant financial resources that reflect the work they do. I’m happy for them; they deserve it, they’ve been working very well.”
“I said no [I don’t have the strength to continue] today. It gives me a reality, which is the reality of Atletico as a club: it has grown enormously in every aspect, a club recognised throughout Europe and the world in a way it wasn’t before. But people want to win; reaching the final isn’t enough for them.”
e again referred to Arsenal’s resources when speaking to Movistar+, as recounted by Diario AS.
“There’s nothing more to say. We’re out. We congratulate Arsenal; they competed well. They have a team and a manager I like. They follow a consistent approach, with significant financial resources that allow them to compete like this. Congratulations. We’ll continue with our work, without dwelling on a detail that’s so obvious.”
At the end of the match, Simeone was seen trying to rev up the crowd that had come to support them.
“To our fans and our players. We had a very good Champions League run, we gave our all and went much further than was generally expected. It’s a shame. We deserved to at least allow ourselves extra time in the first leg and today, which could have given us a better chance.”
“Total gratitude. We competed incredibly well against Barcelona in the quarter-finals and against Arsenal in the semi-finals. And that’s thanks to their effort. I hope our fans give Antoine the boost he’s earned in these last few matches. Koke was incredible, a masterclass in how to play football at his age. On how to take responsibility on the ball, to show personality. And I’m grateful to the team. When the players give their all, when they compete, we want to win, but it’s not enough.”
The result all but ends Atletico Madrid’s season, who returned to the Champions League semi-final stage for the first time in nine years. While it was undoubtedly a success to reach that stage, the missed opportunity to go to a final will stick in the shoes of Atletico fans, who found themselves up against an opponent they showed they could compete with.
