Gabi Fernandez believes that Atletico Madrid ‘played the game they had to’ against Barcelona, for which they have ‘earned the respect of everyone’.
The capital club played out a 0-0 draw against their Catalan hosts on Wednesday evening in the Supercopa de Espana second leg, to lose the final overall 1-1 on away goals.
“We congratulate Barcelona as they are the champions,” began Gabi to reporters after a game that saw late red cards for Filipe Luis and Arda Turan.
“I congratulate my team also for the effort we have made has been tremendous. We are left with the bitter taste of the refereeing decisions, but it is not worth saying any more.
“I prefer to focus on the work of my team, the great effort, well done to Barcelona. We have played the game that we had to and I am proud of my team.
“Our approach? It was the only way to counteract them. Being tight in defence and moving out well on the counter-attack. We have done everything possible to win but it could not be. The team lost steam with the first red card and it has cost us much more.
“What counts is that we have lost the final, but hopefully these two games can serve us well for the future.
“We have earned the respect of everyone. Barcelona has respected us and we have managed to stand up. Hopefully we can continue along this line.”
