Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was sent off for his involvement in an altercation with Liverpool fans after his side fell to a 3-2 loss in the dying minutes of the Champions League clash. The Argentine admitted that his reaction was not justifiable, even though he claimed to have been on the receiving end of insults throughout the match at Anfield.
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Simeone shown red card against Liverpool
Simeone was sent off in the penultimate minute of the game after an altercation with a group of Liverpool fans. Earlier, Virgil van Dijk had headed in from a corner to give Liverpool the lead against Atletico. Simeone was then seen protesting to the fourth official about insults he claimed to have received from the fans, and despite continuing his protests, he was eventually shown a red card.
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Simeone reacts to Liverpool fans
Simeone however downplayed the incident in the post match interview saying he should have kept his cool and his actions weren't justified: "Let's start with my part. We're in a position where we don't have the right to react. It's not right when we react, because we're the protagonists."
He then spoke about the insults he received: "I'm not going to go into detail about the insults. But in the same way we fight against racism and insults directed at players, the benches are packed, and it's not easy to take insults all game. The third goal came, and besides the insults, there was a gesture, and I'm a person.
"From my perspective, I have to maintain my position, deal with everything that happens behind the bench, and until society can resolve it, any coach has to live with it because it happens all the time."
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Liverpool get the job done after losing two-goal lead
Liverpool raced into a 2-0 lead through goals from Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah. Atletico, however, refused to give in and fought back with Marcos Llorente netting twice, including an 81st minute equaliser to make it 2-2. But Van Dijk struck deep into added time to restore Liverpool’s advantage and seal the win.
Simeone reacted to the narrow defeat saying that he was proud of the team after coming back from 2-0 down, saying: "The spirit was what we needed. There are a lot of new players adapting. We played on a difficult pitch, against a brave opponent, with a 2-0 lead at the start. It wasn't a good sign, but we were able to work, fight, and take the game to the limit. If we have to lose, let's lose like this."
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Back to La Liga action for Atletico
Simeone and Atletico will be back in action on Sunday as they travel to face 19th-placed Mallorca.
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