Diego Simeone had little difficulty on Thursday evening to resign to the elimination of Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Madrid people lost to RB Leipzig (2-1) in Lisbon.
“I have no explanation for this. Of course we wanted more than this and we are very disappointed, but I know we gave everything. Leipzig was better than us in all aspects of the game,” Simeone said at his press conference.
The Germans were particularly attacking in the second half and also took the lead in Estádio José Alvalade five minutes after the break. Atlético equalized twenty minutes before time, but Tyler Adams still shot Leipzig to the semi-finals in the final phase.
According to Simeone, the defeat is partly due to the fatigue within his team. “We couldn’t do anything for sixty days and then suddenly we had to play eleven matches in which a Champions League ticket was at stake. We gave everything after a tough season against Leipzig, but we didn’t succeed.”
“I have no further excuses for that”, the Argentinian continued. “Leipzig looked fresh and played with enthusiasm, but we weren’t able to. This elimination has a bitter aftertaste, but we shouldn’t let our head down now.”
RB Leipzig is just working on a historic Champions League season. The Bundesliga club, founded in 2009, never got further than the group stage of the million ball this season. For a place in the final battle, Leipzig awaits a showdown with Paris Saint-Germain on August 18.
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