In the 3rd round of the Champions League, Atletico Madrid suffered a reversal of defeat with a 1-3 defeat against Lille at home. After the match, Atletico's manager Simeone was interviewed and gave an in-depth analysis of the match and questioned the referee's penalty kick decision.
Simone started by saying that the penalty awarded to Lille did not exist. He argued that the ball hit a Lille player's hand and the referee wrongly assumed that it was a handball by Cork. In addition, he pointed out that Koke did not step on anyone during the scramble and therefore the penalty was wrongly awarded. Simone said that although the referee's call must be accepted, mistakes are indeed part of the sport.
Simeone expressed even more annoyance at the referee's behavior of blowing the penalty without asking the VAR (Video Assistant Referee). He argued that the referee was blowing for what he imagined to be an act of penalty kicking, which did not actually happen. Simeone emphasized that neither the referee nor the personnel in the VAR room saw any handball or foul play by Koke.
Speaking about his team's loss, Simeone said that Atletico played very well in the first half, one of the best halves of the season. However, the game was complicated by a penalty call that led to a 1-2 scoreline, upsetting the balance of the field. According to Simeone, Atletico had the chance to go 3-0 up but missed the opportunity due to a lack of decisiveness in front of goal. He also pointed out that Lille capitalized on all three chances to score three goals, something Atletico need to reflect on.
For Thurrott, the striker in the team, Simeone said that he played a good game and had a lot of chances, but unfortunately did not convert them into goals. Simeone hopes that Thurrott can continue this ability to run and create chances, and expects him to score in future games.
Speaking about Atletico's Champions League situation, Simeone said that the situation is quite complicated. According to him, Atletico are in a tough time in the Champions League and need to beat Paris on the road to turn the situation around. However, the fact that seven goals have been scored by their opponents in two consecutive matches makes Atletico's chances of making it out of the competition even slimmer.
Finally, Simeone re-emphasized the impact of that penalty call on the game. He said that if the referee and VAR could have made the right call, the result of the game could have been completely different. Nonetheless, Simeone said he would accept the result and work hard to prepare for the upcoming matches.
