Champions League: Simeone takes fresh dig at Liverpool critics after Atletico Madrid's win

Champions League: Simeone takes fresh dig at Liverpool critics after Atletico Madrid's win

Atletico Madrid head coach, Diego Simeone, has aimed a fresh dig at those who criticized him in the wake of his side's UEFA Champions League round of 16 second-leg triumph at Anfield in March.

Simeone's men looked destined to exit the tournament after goals from Gini Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino had wiped out Atletico's first leg 1-0 advantage.

The La Liga giants qualified for the quarter-finals on 4-2 aggregate, thanks to Marcos Llorente's brace and Alvaro Morata's strike before the Champions League was suspended due to coronavirus pandemic.

"Football is like boxing because you have to know when it's time to attack," Simeone told AS.

"At Atletico, we know the virtues we have as a team. The example is when we played against Liverpool in the Champions League, a tremendous team, we knew that we could hurt them.

"When they talk about how we were lucky, I think of a team that lost 2-0 and scored three goals.

"That's not luck. The games must be valued as a whole."

Meanwhile, Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, speaking to reporters after the game, said Atletico could play proper football, but they stand deep and have counter-attacks.

He said: "I don't understand with the quality they have that they play this kind of football. I don't understand that.

"When I see players like Llorente, Koke, and Saul, they could play proper football, but they stayed deep in their half and have counter-attacks."

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