Koke claps back at Pep Guardiola for labelling Atletico Madrid’s football pre-historic

Manchester City beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday evening.

It was the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League and it was decided by a goal from Kevin de Bruyne in the 70th minute.

City dominated 71% of the possession but managed to register just two shots on target including the goal. Atletico set up incredibly defensively for the game and won’t be disappointed.

Because the tie is still very much in the balance and the next leg will take place in Spain at the Wanda Metropolitano next week.

And City don’t have the luxury of rotating ahead of it. They face Liverpool in the semi-final of the FA Cup at the weekend before facing them again in the Premier League the following weekend.

Atletico take on Mallorca on Saturday afternoon before hosting Espanyol in the Spanish capital the following matchday. Los Rojiblancos are going to back themselves to cause an upset.

“It was a very close match, very difficult,” Pep Guardiola said post-match in comments carried by Marca.

“They’re masters of defending as a team and it’s difficult.

“We managed to stop them from running and didn’t concede chances. We had patience and scored the goal thanks to the connection between [Phil] Foden and Kevin.

“We sensed that they would play 5-3-2 but then they adjusted and became a 5-5-0. In pre-history, today and in a hundred thousand years, it’s difficult to attack a 5-5-0, there’s no space.

“They’re strong, we’re small and light. It’s a matter of patience.

“I told them at half-time that we were fine. The game in the second half was looser. And I already sense that it’s going to be a similar game to the one that we’re going to play in Madrid.”

Atletico captain Koke took exception to Guardiola’s comments.

The midfielder posted an Instagram story post-game clapping back at the Catalan for labelling Atletico’s football pre-historic.

“In love with your history since pre-history,” Koke wrote while sharing an image of Atletico’s crest. “Proud to be of Atletico.”

Tags Atletico Madrid Champions League Koke La Liga Manchester City Pep Guardiola
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