Atletico Madrid Captain Koke 'Proud' Of His Team's Showing Against Man City, Accuses Them Of Gamesmanship
Atletico Madrid captain Koke says he's 'proud' of his side's showing against Manchester City, accusing the Premier League club of gamesmanship.
Atletico were dumped out of the Champions League after a fiery encounter with Pep Guardiola's side.
💥 Kicking out at Phil Foden
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 13, 2022
😤 Headbutting Raheem Sterling
🤯 Pulling Jack Grealish's hair
Fair play to Manchester City for keeping their composure in Madrid 👏
🎙 @rioferdy5, @JoleonLescott and Owen Hargreaves praise Pep Guardiola's side.#UCL pic.twitter.com/JPmcOrzIi0
They lost at the Eithad 1-0, which proved crucial as Diego Simeone's super-charged up team failed to find the net at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday.
The hosts had chances to level the tie, but didn't take any of their opportunities - with the game descending into chaos.
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Felipe's red card prompted a mass brawl between both teams, with Stefan Savic clashing with Jack Grealish.
And at the final whistle, tensions continued to rise as all hell broke loose in the tunnel, with Spanish police called.
BT Sport pundits Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott condemned Atletico for their antics, but Koke stands by their actions.
On Felipe's sending off, he said: "I don't know what happened because I was on the bench and he caught me in the other corner. football situations.
"The game takes you to that madness when you see that you have chances and they throw themselves on the ground and lose time. They criticise us for that many times and let's see what people think of it today."
Koke added: "Today it has been seen. Many times we are Atlético who are criticised and today we are proud of what the team has done.
"We wanted to be in the semis, we are hurt, but proud of this Champions League and we will never stop believing. Now to focus on La Liga to get into the Champions League."
As he alluded to, Atletico are still in a fight to qualify for the Champions League next season.
They currently occupy fourth spot, but are just one point ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis.
Topics: Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Football
Nasir Jabbar