After the Champions League exit against Manchester City, Atletico coach Diego Simeone spoke about the precarious match. He also had a dig for ManCity coach Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola had said after the 1-0 first leg win, in which Atletico had not fired a single shot and had been extremely defensive, among other things, that the tactics had been “prehistoric”: “They played 5-5-0.” After Wednesday’s second leg, the Catalan then declared that the Colchoneros had played “brilliantly” and again referred to his statements: “I didn’t mean it like that. I just said that, whether in the past, today or in the future, it’s always difficult to play against a team that defends very well.”
Simeone, however, only had the pithy words in mind after the first leg. Asked if Guardiola had lacked respect, the 51-year-old said. “Often those who have a big vocabulary are very intelligent and manage to treat you with contempt,” Simeone said. “But those of us who may have less vocabulary are not so stupid. “
On the wild scenes in the 90th minute, including Felipe’s sending off, he explained, “I was so far away that we don’t know what happened. The referee told me he stepped on one of their players. There were so many people involved that I didn’t see anything. “
Simeone’s whimsical explanation for the applause
That he was taunting applause because of ManCity’s time play was denied by Simeone, who offered a somewhat whimsical explanation. “Me, no, please. I applauded the fans because they appreciated the team’s efforts. How can I not applaud people like that?”
On the other hand, he said, there was “nothing to say about the time play. There is always a referee who supervises the rules. I would like to congratulate the opponent who played a great game and played the kind of football we are used to. “
