Simeone: Barcelona's pressure was difficult for us
Atletico head coach Diego Simeone expressed his thoughts calmly but meaningfully after the second leg of the Spanish Cup semifinal. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
His team lost 0-3 to Barcelona, but thanks to the big 4-0 victory in the first match, they advanced to the final with an aggregate score of 4-3. Thus, although Barcelona was the winner on the field that night, Atletico triumphed on aggregate.
Simeone acknowledged the strength of the opponent and emphasized that Barcelona played at a high pace with intense pressure. This is logically correct, as the Catalans applied heavy pressure throughout the match.
Especially in the second half, Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso made several important saves to rescue his team. Simeone did not hide that the night was not easy for his team.
He admitted that the opponent controlled the ball better and that Atletico had to work harder in defense. However, he highlighted that the Madrid side created danger on counterattacks and fought until the very end.
This is the classic image of Simeone's football: struggling, enduring, and achieving results. The coach also spoke about the fans.
He said that such big nights are exactly the games that fans expect, and the players give their all for the desired result. This suits Atletico's spirit: the team is sometimes not beautiful to watch, but achieves its goals with tough, patient, and characterful football.
In short, the night presented two different pictures for Simeone: a heavy defeat on the scoreboard, but a big victory on aggregate. Barcelona showed their strength in the second leg, but Atletico preserved the foundation they built in the first match.
For this reason, the Madrid side will now prepare for the final, while Barcelona, despite praise for their good play, said goodbye to the cup (source: One.uz).
