Diego Simeone's Madrid team "Atletico" yesterday at "Camp Nou" stadium lost to "Barcelona" by a minimal margin and significantly complicated their chances to fight for the first position. The victory for "Barca" was brought by Lionel Messi's precise penalty kick. In case of "Atletico" winning, they would have eliminated the Catalans' advantage to two points, but now the gap has increased to eight, so "Barca" greatly improved their chances to finish the season at the top. D. Simeone stated after the match that the outcome was determined by L. Messi, who would have led "Atletico" to victory if he played in that team. "If we had Messi wearing 'Atletico' colors, we would have won this match with a 1-0 result," - said D. Simeone. "I have no doubts that we can still achieve our goals. We have to be realistic and understand that in this league, only 'Barcelona' and 'Real' dominate. I think we did the impossible when we became champions of the country in the 2013-14 season," - added D. Simeone. D. Simeone also spoke about the changed playing style of "Barcelona." Specifically, under Ernesto Valverde, the Catalans have become a more organized team, paying more attention to defense. "I liked seeing a well-organized and compact defense in 'Barcelona.' They played with a 4-4-2 formation, which shows that they can play without the usual 4-3-3. I admire the work that Valverde does within their ranks," - added D. Simeone.
