Atletico Madrid Camp Upbeat Despite 2-1 Loss to Real Madrid Due to One Reason
Real Madrid played Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg on March 4. Los Blancos won the Santiago Bernabeu showdown 1-0.
Rodrygo (4') and Brahim Diaz (55') scored two spectacular goals for the hosts. Julian Alvarez's strike (32') for Atleti was equally impressive.
Atleti, however, was in control for a major part of the game. Real Madrid squandered some late chances to add to their lead. Diego Simeone and the rest of the Atletico Madrid camp reckon the tie is still wide open due to those misses.
❤️🔥 M A D R I D I S M O ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/1SWl2PT7Pw
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 4, 2025
Speaking after the game, Simeone said:
We ended up competing well. There was just that risk at the end, when they won the ball, with Mbappé and Vinícius to finish it off. The hope, that it wasn't a goal, leaves the door open for what comes next.
- Diego Simeone
Meanwhile, defender Jose Maria Gimenez thinks that Los Rojiblancos were the superior side. He said:
The way we came, the way we played, the way the match went, I think so (they could have achieved something more on Tuesday). Until the goal I think we were totally better than them on the ball, but that's not enough. They have class, quality and with the slightest chance they score a goal.
- Jose Gimenez
Gimenez further claimed that his team needed to rectify the mistakes they made. He also thanked the Atletico fans for their support and urged them to have the team back at home. Gimenez said:
It felt like we were playing at home. We're going to need that in the second leg.
🏁 @RealMadridEn 2-1 @AtletiEnglish
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 4, 2025
⚽ 4' @RodrygoGoes
⚽ 32' Julián Alvarez
⚽ 55' @Brahim pic.twitter.com/kBGNAOIA0X
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Apratim is an experienced sports journalist having covered European and World Football, Combat Sports, Olympic Sports, and more for online media publications like Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, and more. He is currently an MSc. in Sport Marketing student at Loughborough University, London.