Diego Simeone Discloses His Message to Lookman, Atletico Madrid Stars During Loss to Barcelona
- Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone has revealed his message to his players during the 3-0 loss to Barcelona
- Barcelona nearly overturned their 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final in Madrid
- Simeone was visibly agitated on the touchline when Barcelona were 3-0 up, and Atletico Madrid looked like they'll bottle it
Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone has disclosed what he told his players during the 3-0 loss to Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final on March 3, 2026.
Marc Bernal scored twice on either side of Raphinha’s penalty to help Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid, but it was not enough, and ultimately crashed out of the Copa del Rey.
Source: Getty Images
Atletico Madrid won the first leg 4-0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, providing enough leverage for themselves in the second leg at Camp Nou.
Simeone discloses message to Atletico Madrid players
Simeone was visibly frustrated on the timeline as his team was second-best for most of the game, particularly after going 3-0 down and were close to bottling their advantage.
The Argentine manager shouted at his players and, after the match, disclosed what he was saying when pressure built up on his team on the pitch.
"Today, when we were down 3-0, I said [to the player], 'This is Atleti.' [we can't bottle this],” he said as quoted by Tribuna. “I wouldn’t have signed up for it, because we needed and could have played a better game offensively.
“We are Atlético, we are destined to suffer, to always reach our limits. I don’t know what will happen, but believe me, the journey is fantastic.”
Simeone also disclosed his message to his players during the half-time break when they were 2-0 down.
“Firstly, calm down and face reality, they were a step above us. They didn’t let us play, they took away our space just like we did to them on our pitch,” he said as quoted by Into the Calderon.
“That’s what happened in the first half, where we couldn’t do anything, we had planned to attack.”
Atletico Madrid will face the winner of the second semi-final between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad. The two sides will play on Wednesday, with Sociedad having a one-goal advantage.
Source: Getty Images
Lookman reacts to Atletico's progress
Ademola Lookman took to his X page to celebrate Atletico Madrid’s progress to the final with a simple message: “📍 Next stop: Final!! ❤️🤍 @Atleti”.
The Super Eagles attacker, who scored in the first leg, was consumed by Barcelona’s waves of attack in the second leg and was substituted in the 58th minute.
Most of Atletico's stars struggled, with only goalkeeper Juan Musso and Antoine Griezmann being the only players who had a decent performance.
Simeone challenges Lookman
Legit.ng reported that Diego Simeone challenged Lookman to do more despite a bright start to life since joining Atletico Madrid from Atalanta.
Simeone admits that Lookman is brilliant offensively, but needs to improve his defensive contributions to be able to have a balanced effect on the team.
Source: Legit.ng
