Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone was in no mood to make excuses following his side’s Champions League elimination at the hands of RB Leipzig.
Goals from Dani Olmo and Tyler Adams sealed a 2-1 win for Julian Nagelsmann’s side in Lisbon, as Simeone’s side miss out on another last four spot for the third year in a row.
The Bundesliga side were in impressive form at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, and Simeone admitted his players were simply outclassed by Nagelsmann’s dynamic young team.
“The won in every area of the game tonight. We found it very difficult to impose ourselves on the match,” as per quotes from post match interview from Marca.
“I am convinced we gave everything we had tonight, but it was hard. To not play for 60 days, and then come back and play 11 league games is difficult.
“I have to congratulate Leipzig. They played with vitality and freshness tonight, and we could not match that, which cost us.”
Simeone’s comments echoed those of his midfield stars Saul Niguez and club captain Koke, who both admitted the German side were too much for them in Portugal.
Nagelsmann’s young team will be confident ahead of their last four clash against Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain next week, after another dominant European display in 2019-20.
Barcelona now represent La Liga’s final chance of Champions League glory this season, ahead of their quarter final clash with Bayern Munich tomorrow, with Manchester City up against Lyon on Saturday.