Atletico Madrid fell to defeat against Manchester City on Wednesday night, losing 1-0 on aggregate. They failed to go through, they failed to score, but there was a clear sense of pride around the Wanda Metropolitano.
While the players continued their heated arguments from the match down the tunnel, the vast majority of the stadium stayed after the final whistle to sing for their heroes.
After the match, Diego Simeone attended to his press duties. One of the first things he was asked was what he could take away from an ultimately useless draw, with Diario AS recording his answers.
“It helps our pride and that of our people. We have the peace of mind that comes from knowing you gave everything.”
In the second half of the match, Manchester City were accused of time-wasting. Simeone had little regard for it.
“I don’t have anything to say on it. There’s a referee there to impose the rules. Congratulate the opponent, they took the tie fairly because they scored a goal more than us.”
The game finished 10 minutes ago. And Atletico were knocked out. Wanda still packed pic.twitter.com/ueQ5Z5SILF
— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) April 13, 2022
Finally, he was asked once again about the clash of footballing ideology, a topic which has dominated the discourse of both legs. It’s a debate that held little interest for the Argentine.
“What I know is that we are proud of what we are and how we compete. I like to see the ones that win celebrating. It shows the importance of winning.”
