Atletico de Madrid defender Kieran Trippier has hailed the ‘unbelievable’ Diego Simeone following the side’s victory at Liverpool on Wednesday night.
Los Rojiblancos stunned the Champions League holders by winning both legs of their Round of 16 tie and coming from 2-0 down in extra-time to dramatically triumph 3-2 at Anfield.
Trippier started the game for Atleti at right-back having missed the first tie at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid last month and was replaced by Sime Vrsaljko late on Wednesday.
It was a first return to England for the former Burnley full-back since he joined Atleti last summer in a £20m deal from Tottenham Hotspur.
He reserved special praise for his boss Simeone – who has been widely heralded for employing tactics to nullify the threat of Liverpool.
“You have seen over many years how strong Atlético are,” Trippier said, in quotes cited by The Guardian.
“I’ve been here seven months and I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest. Starting from Diego Simeone – everyone feeds off him – he’s an unbelievable manager. I can’t really explain how good it is here, it is just an unbelievable feeling and I’m proud to be part of this team.
“To defend like we did at Anfield we knew would be very difficult because of the occasion and the fans but we had that never-say-die attitude even when we went 1-0 down and we knew we just needed to score once and get that away goal. But to score three was an amazing feeling.”
Trippier is one of the few senior England players to move abroad and he previously spoken about his eagerness to learn Spanish and integrate more into the club.
“It is a big change, different culture, different types of football, but I am loving every minute of it and hopefully my performances for Atlético can keep me in the England squad,” he added.
“I want to play at the highest level for as long as I can in order to play for England. That’s my objective.”
