Atletico Madrid Boss Diego Simeone Praises 'Extraordinary' Lionel Messi After Barcelona Draw

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has lauded the 'tremendous' performance of Lionel Messi in Saturday's 1-1 La Liga draw at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Argentine forward was not on the scoresheet, denied repeatedly by a mixture of the woodwork and goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Instead, it was Luis Suarez that rescued his side a point late in the second half after Saul Niguez had given the hosts the lead with 20 minutes played.

But Simeone singled out the display of his compatriot, who last week led Argentina to the World Cup with a sublime hat-trick.

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"The stadium was wonderful, we had another night of brilliant football, and with the impressive Messi - extraordinary," he said, quoted by FourFourTwo.

"Messi was the only one who you could see where, every time he touched the ball, something different could happen.

"He was certainly not as tired as many expected after the trip [from international duty in South America] because he played a tremendous match."

Antoine Griezmann missed two opportunities in the first-half prior to Saul's goal, but Simeone was complimentary of the Frenchman's performance.

"For me, this was the best game that Griezmann has had at home," he said. "He twice worked the goalkeeper, he countered with [Angel] Correa and he held the ball up well."

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And on the outcome of the game, Simeone added: "It was a great game between two teams with different characteristics. Our first half was very good, the goalkeeper [Marc-Andre ter Stegen] was key.

"From the 60th minute, Barca attacked with more clarity due to their need to score."