Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid - Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - March 12, 2025 Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone reacts REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo
(Reuters) - Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone acknowledged feelings of frustration and injustice following his team's painful Champions League loss to Real Madrid but urged the club to move on ahead of Sunday’s LaLiga home match against Barcelona.
Simeone had spoken out about Atletico's exit on Wednesday, when VAR ruled Julian Alvarez's slip caused a double touch to rule out an Atletico goal in the penalty shootout against Real.
"The only power I have is to work and ensure the team keeps competing. I understand our fans, and the feeling everyone has is frustration, anger and injustice," he told reporters on Saturday.
Simeone was furious with the referee's decision to disallow Alvarez's penalty as Real won the shootout 4-2 to advance to the quarter-finals.
"I'm not going to comment further on the previous match. We have to focus on the upcoming clash," the 54-year-old Argentine added.
"We have a great opportunity against a team that plays very well. We’re focused on ourselves and on showing the fans that we can keep competing."
The match against Barcelona could be a defining moment in Simeone's season. Barcelona are second in the standings with 57 points, one ahead of Atletico, who have played a game more.
"It’s always important to maintain the right distance in the standings as the season progresses. For our chances, this match is about winning and closing the gap. If they win, they move closer to the title," Simeone said.
"Everything about them (Barcelona) concerns us. They are a very complete team, a brilliant side, and they’ve managed this past week well."
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Ed Osmond)
