Simeone Sends Message to Lamine Yamal After Atletico Qualify for Champions League Semifinal, Video
- Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone sent a message to Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal after the team defeated the Catalans
- Yamal led the Catalans to a 2-1 win over Los Rojiblancos, but this was not enough to see them into the Champions League semifinal
- Praising the winger, Simeone shared how he was able to curtail the attacking prowess of the La Liga champs in the second half
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has sent a strong message to Barcelona's Lamine Yamal after the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg on April 14.
Atletico defeated the Catalans 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 loss in a thrilling encounter at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium in the Spanish capital on Tuesday night.
Source: Getty Images
Diego Simeone’s side has now reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in nine years.
Barcelona took the lead in the fourth minute through Yamal, who capitalised on a Clement Lenglet error and finished neatly past goalkeeper Juan Musso after being set up by Ferran Torres.
In the 24th minute, Torres doubled the advantage, racing onto a pass from Dani Olmo before firing into the top corner.
Seven minutes later, Nigerian international Ademola Lookman pulled one back, converting Marcos Llorente’s low cross to keep Atletico ahead on aggregate.
'Yamal is a good kid' - Simeone
Following the intense match, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone admitted that the Barcelona winger is an exceptional talent.
In a viral post on X, the Argentine manager acknowledged that the Spanish youngster caused problems for his side in the second leg but noted that Atletico is the one progressing to the semi-finals.
Simeone said via Into The Calderon:
“Knocking Barcelona out in the Champions League quarter-finals isn’t easy. We’ve faced [Lionel] Messi’s Barça, Yamal’s Barça, and we’ve done it.
"It’s been 14 years, and seeing the team compete still makes me emotional. The players have changed, we’ve started again so many times, and once again we’re among the four best teams in Europe.
"How good is it to play a Champions League semi-final?”
The tactician explained that the substitutions in the second half were able to stop the attacking prowess of Barcelona.
Source: Getty Images
Simeone explained that this brought more balance to the second half, as quoted by ESPN:
“Bringing on Nico [Gonzalez], [Alex] Baena, and [Alexander] Sørloth gave us energy, and they started to lose that speed, leaving the crosses for [Ronaldo] Araujo and [Robert] Lewandowski.
“It’s the fourth, yes. Playing a Champions League semifinal, that’s great. We’ll go in with all our enthusiasm and faith. We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We have a lot of faith, we’re prepared, and we’ll go after what we’ve been chasing for many years.”
Psychic cat predicts Atletico vs Barca clash
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nimbus Pronos, a feline oracle, had predicted which team would reach the Champions League semi-final.
Simeone’s side held a two-goal advantage after winning the first leg 2-0 at Camp Nou thanks to goals from Julian Alvarez and Alex Sorloth.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
