Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone subtly attacked Liverpool after their side lost to Arsenal in the Champions League. The Spanish national team suffered a 4-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium. It means Simeone’s men have endured a tough time during their visit to England in this season’s competition.
Last month they traveled to Liverpool but lost 3-2 thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s heartbreaking 92nd-minute winning goal, with manager Simeone embroiled in an altercation with supporters. Despite playing against Liverpool this season, Simeone declared Arsenal to be the “best team” his side had ever faced.
In his post-match speech, Simeone made his thoughts on the Gunners’ performance abundantly clear.
“Yes, I think this is the best team we’ve ever played against,” he told Amazon Prime through an interpreter when asked if Arsenal were the best team he’s ever played against.
“Arsenal, they competed very well, they had quality all over the pitch, running and running, so yeah, they deserved to win today and I want to congratulate them on that win as well.”
After a scoreless start at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal pulled away from Atletico with four goals in 13 minutes.
Gabriel Magalhães broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, and Gabriel Martinelli scored the second goal in the 64th minute.
Victor Goqueres then attacked twice.
The opening goal came in the 67th minute, and three minutes later they were completely defeated. “This is a learning curve. We need to keep improving,” Simeone said of the match.
“Originally I thought we competed very well.
“There were two situations in the game where things didn’t go our way. And after the 60th minute, they were the better team and deserved to win.”
Defender David Hanko echoed his manager’s sentiments about Arsenal. “It was a very tough match,” he told UEFA.
“They are one of the best teams in the world at the moment so you can expect this, definitely. In the first half it worked and even though they created some chances we were able to defend.”
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League and resume their domestic duties on Sunday when they face Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium. The victory maintained their perfect record in the Champions League so far this season.
Meanwhile, Liverpool will be looking to end a four-game losing streak when they face Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday. There was chaos before the match, with the club forced to cancel their pre-match press conference due to a delayed flight to Germany.
