Diego Pablo Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madrid, expressed his frustration and anger after his team's elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid in a penalty shootout. While he showed pride in his players' attitude, he was particularly upset by the referee’s decision to disallow Julián Álvarez's penalty.

"Who saw him touch the ball twice?"

Simeone challenged the journalists in the press conference, asking those who had seen Álvarez touch the ball twice during his penalty to speak up. "Did you see the penalty?" he asked one journalist, adding, "Let the person who saw Julián kick the ball twice raise their hand." After seeing no one raise their hand, the coach emphasized that, in his view, there had been no such infraction.

Proud of his team despite the elimination

Despite his frustration over the controversial decision, Simeone expressed pride in his players' efforts. "We played a very good game, we competed incredibly well," he stated. He acknowledged that the team had opportunities, including a potential second goal, and although the game ultimately went to penalties, the players fought until the end.

"I’m proud of my players because we competed in an exemplary way in both matches. I'm happy because there are two ways to go to bed. One is when you don’t measure up and don’t compete, and the other is when you give it your all and play and compete admirably," the coach explained.

Looking ahead to the future

When discussing how this elimination might affect his team moving forward, especially in light of their next match against Barcelona, Simeone said: "It’s clear that when you’re knocked out, it’s not easy to digest. 

We have a huge opponent next Sunday, who probably wanted us to go to extra time and penalties today. We’ll arrive tired and beaten, but we’ve competed in this tie the way you should compete." Although Atlético de Madrid didn’t manage to eliminate Real Madrid this time, Simeone remained calm and at peace, knowing his team fought until the very last minute.