Diego Simeone admits Atletico Madrid “exited” their 3-0 Derbi defeat to Real Madrid on Saturday once Cristiano Ronaldo had scored his penalty.

Atleti were perceived to have improved early in the second half, until their hopes of a comeback were slashed by Ronaldo converting from the spot midway through, and Simeone lamented the timing of the Portuguese’s goal.

“After Cristiano’s penalty, everything became more difficult. With the penalty, we exited the game,” the Coach said after the match.

“Koke played like he always had and there wasn’t a big change in [our] system. This defeat must serve to improve us.

“We played better in the second half and with the higher lines. This defeat hurts us all. At Atletico, we’re all one.

“The result is what it is, in the first half they were better and we couldn’t do what we did in the first 20 minutes of the second half. Then, the penalty ended our hopes of getting back into the game.

“Weaker team? Depending on how you want to see things, in the second half we weren’t not.

“The first goal came from a deflection. You have to look at things calmly, but we must find better solutions to keep those good minutes going for the rest of the game.

“More painful for it being the last-ever Calderon Derbi? It’s like any other game you play.

“All games are different. They were much better than us in the first half, then we were until the penalty and after that, the game went further and further away from us.

“Carrasco? He was good in terms of availability and commitment. He always works hard.

“What angers me the most? Losing always bothers me, it’s not good.

“Surprise to play Torres? Why? We wanted depth, a good duel with their centre-backs, a good aerial game…  With him we were balanced, even if it didn’t work out.

“Koke in the middle? When we lose, mistakes are collective and they created situations that hurt us.

“I repeat that the at the start of the second half, it was what we expected from the match.”

Tags Diego Simeone
La Liga - Club News