UEFA Champions League second place winners and Spanish champions Madrid "Atletico" footballers on Wednesday lost 0:1 to Leverkusen "Bayer" team in the first leg of the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, Madrid coach Diego Simeone said after the match that everything is not so bad after all.
In the first half, D. Simeone had to make two substitutions when Guilherme Siqueira and Saul Niguez suffered injuries in a short period of time. In the second half, defender Tiago received his second yellow card and had to leave the field.
"It could have been worse. It was a strange game, neither team created many chances. We did not cope with their pressure on the pitch, they won many micro battles. When we had to make two substitutions in the first half, the referee disallowed one goal, and we lost only 0:1, so I can say that I am satisfied," - said D. Simeone.
From the beginning of the match, "Bayer" took control of the ball, which they maintained at 60 percent or more throughout the game. The Germans managed to impose their style of play, however, in the first half the best chance was for "Atletico" defender Gabi. Nevertheless, in that episode and throughout the game, "Bayer" goalkeeper Bernd Leno played excellently and confidently.
"I feel that any other opponent would have hurt us much more," - said D. Simeone.
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