Atletico Madrid, despite losing 1-2 at the "Metropolitano" on Tuesday night (14/04), eliminated Barcelona with an aggregate score of 3-2 and secured their ticket to the Champions League semi-finals.
In the press conference after the match, the coach of the home team, Diego Simeone, appeared very happy with his team's qualification and could not hide his emotions.
"Uff, 14 years have passed, and honestly, seeing the team still fighting truly moves me. The players have changed, we had to start from scratch countless times, and now here we are again among the top four in Europe."
"We're playing in a Champions League semi-final... wow, that's great. We'll go in with all our enthusiasm and belief. We know our strengths and weaknesses. We have a lot of faith, we are prepared, and we will pursue what we have been chasing for many years."
He then praised the Catalans, noting how good a team they are and how much they troubled them.
"We faced a team that plays extremely well, with incredible speed. It's difficult to contain them, we made a huge effort after falling behind 0-2, despite individual mistakes, and we managed to get back into the game and stay calm. Then, the 1-2 was a great goal. The second half was more balanced. The additions of Nico, Baena, and Sørloth gave us energy, and they started to lose that speed, leaving crosses to Araújo and Lewandowski."
"They are very good. When you play against teams like these and make mistakes, they don't forgive you. It could happen. We thought they might score one or two goals. We had to play, attack, and impose ourselves. The game was not about defending, even if the opponent forces you to do so, whether you want to or not. Sometimes you don't want to defend, but they force you because you can't get the ball from them."
"Every time we face them, we know there's only one way to attack them. They had more possession this time. In the previous match, they were more balanced. If you don't attack them, you lose. They are very good in attack. We knew the chances we would have. In the Spanish Cup, we had a fantastic first half here and then had to suffer there. In the first Champions League match, we capitalized on the key moments, and that 0-2 lead gave us some breathing room for a difficult match."
Cholo also thanked his players, emphasizing how crucial they were and the immense effort they made to eliminate the "Blaugrana" from the top club competition.
"The way Julián and Griezmann ran... the work of Llorente, Nahuel, and Koke, Mateo's incredible performance... how the substitutes came on. It gave us tremendous strength. I told them a big thank you after the final whistle."
Finally, when asked if he preferred Arsenal or Sporting in the semi-final, the Argentine coach replied: "I don't care. We need to rest. We have a final on Saturday."
