LISBON, Portugal (AP) – This time Atletico Madrid has no excuse.
No unfortunate cuts, no old enemies, no prominent adversaries. Diego Simeone’s team simply couldn’t do it.
While the road to the elusive champions league name is the easiest, Atletico’s career ended with a 2–1 loss to young Leipzig in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
“There is no excuse, ” said Simeone. “I liked our opponent’s game. He played decisively, with wonderful enthusiasm and freshness. It made it complicated for us.
“They beat us in duels, in fouls, in understanding the game. We gave everything, but it wasn’t enough. We’ll have to congratulate our opponent. We couldn’t play the way we wanted to.”
The defeat in Lisbon generated complaints at home, and some wondered if Simeone’s time with Atletico was over.
The club’s president, Enrique Cerezo, went out to protect the coach even though the fan waited for the backhand by now.
“Those who challenge their rosters buy their own club and decide for the players themselves,” Cerezo told the Spanish media. “We had a very smart season. We finished in the 3 most sensible of the Spanish league and reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which is no small thing.
Atletico sought to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since 2017, a year after losing their final moment in 3 seasons.
It seemed that this could be despite the whole year for the Spanish club. He has eliminated the protective champion Liverpool in the last 16 matches and has removed himself from the force in the circular of 16, and the former genuine madridist and Cristiano Ronaldo, guilty of the maximum of Atletico’s last eliminations, were excluded from the tournament.
Real Madrid have defeated Atletico in the Champions League four times in a row between 2014 and 2017, twice in the final and also in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Atletico lost to Juventus in the 16th circular last season.
Atletico was unbeathed in 11 matches following the pandemic stop and was the top-experienced team of this year’s tournament, as well as former Champions Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who face off on Friday.
Leipzig, founded only 11 years ago, played well but was weakened by the departure of the more sensible scorer Timo Werner.
Everything favored Atletico, but Simeone’s team can simply capitalize on his luck. Leipzig overcame them with an 88th-minute goal from American midfielder Tyler Adams.
Some criticized Simeone for starting young Portuguese star Joel Felix, who scored his only goal opposed to Leipzig after coming off the bench.
Felix has arrived this season as Benfica’s record signing to upgrade Antoine Griezmann, while the club has lost veterans such as Diego Godon and Filipe Luis in its biggest reorganization since 2011, when Simeone took over.
“Of course, we may have done better, but we gave it our all,” Simeone said, adding that he’s already looking ahead to prepare for another “difficult” season ahead.
“We have to stay calm, ” said Cerezo. “I still think we have a team. It just wasn’t our night.”
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