Valencia President Manuel Llorente has thanked Atletico Madrid Coach Diego Simeone for his ‘honourable gesture’ during Saturday night’s game.
Los Che’s Coach Mauricio Pellegrino was sent to the stands just before half-time for what he explained afterwards was throwing a water bottle down on the ground.
Simeone tried to intervene and complained to the match official at the time that the decision was unfair. For Llorente, this action drew praise.
“We are honoured that Simeone made this gesture, because nobody knew why he had been sent off. We must do more than that to get punished,” commented the President post-match.
“Today our game was more intense. We are pleased for our fans, who have seen a Valencia that is gathering a pace to their play.
“People deserve this against a team like Atletico, who has played very well. It was the most intense game we have played so far, both in and out of Mestalla.”
