Diego Godin has said the referee isn’t to blame for Atletico Madrid losing at Celta Vigo after a controversial penalty award.

Nolito opened the scoring from 12 yards but there appeared to be a handball by Augusto Fernandez in the build-up to the incident that produced the spot kick.

Referee Juan Martinez Munuera appeared to see the handball but allowed play to go on and, shortly after, Mario Suarez felled the eventual scorer.

“I think the referee sees the handball but you don’t imagine what’s going to happen,” Godin said, Marca reports.

“This is football. We can’t say we lost by the handball or because we were without important players in midfield.

“Simply, Celta played a great match and Atletico were not so good, especially in the first half.

“We saw one Atletico in the first half and another in the second. We improved in the second until their goal. That’s the one that breaks the game and we didn’t have the fortune to equalise at an important time.

“We’re not taking anything for lost [in the title race]. If anything characterises us it’s that we always fight and we’re self-critical. We will fight to the end in the League and ensure we meet our goal of the Champions League.”

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