Diego Simeone rumbled with the referee's decision to exclude the spot kick of Julian Alvarez in the penalty shootout when Atletico Madrid was beaten from the Real Madrid from the Champions League.
Real won the shootout 4-2 to continue to the quarterfinals after a fascinating last-16-drawing game that ended 2-2 in aggregate after the 1-0 victory of Atletico on Wednesday.
During the shootout Alvarez slid out and the VAR saw that his left foot touched the ball a little before he kicked him with his right. With only one touch allowed, the penalty, which would have leveled the shooting at 2-2, was deterred.
Simeone remained frustrated by the decision of referee Szymon Marciniak and said that he still had to see another image that finally demonstrated that Alvarez touched the ball twice.
“The referee said that when Julian came to the penalty place, he touched the ball with his standing foot, but the ball did not move,” Simeone told reporters.
“I have never called for the VAR to judge a penalty in a shootout … never.
'Have you seen him touch the ball twice? Please, whoever was present in the stadium and saw him touch the ball twice, move the ball, please come forward and raised your hand.
“I don't see anyone lifted with their hand, so that's all I have to say … Next question.”
This marks the fifth time that Atletico from the Knockout phases of the Champions League (including finals) has been eliminated by Real Madrid; Only Bayern Munich (seven times V Real Madrid) were more often eliminated by a single opponent in the knockout rounds of the competition.
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– Atlético de Madrid (@atleti Glish) 12 March 2025
Simeone said that, despite the heartbreaking defeat, he was proud of his players and hoped that they could recover quickly if they organize title rivals Barcelona in LaLiga on Sunday.
Only one point separates the three largest clubs in Spain in one of the nearest Leaga title races in recent years, whereby Barca leads the peloton on 57 points, prior to second place Real Madrid on goal difference with Atletico Madrid in third place at 56 points. Barca has a game at hand.
“We will see if this defeat will cost us ahead. The way we went out, it is not easy to digest,” said Simeone.
“We have a great opponent on Sunday. I am sure Barca wanted us to go to extra time. We will be tired, defeated after we participated in the way we had to compete tonight, but we give it all we have on Sunday.
“Our fans went home irritated, but knowing that their team gave everything. There is a way to go to sleep thinking thinking, but this team earned the applause. It was a nice evening, but unfortunately we didn't go on. I go home in the defeat, but in peace.”
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