• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Atletico Madrid's Playing Style Called 'Disgraceful' By Former Real Madrid Player

Home> Football

Published 19:46 24 Apr 2022 GMT+1

Atletico Madrid's Playing Style Called 'Disgraceful' By Former Real Madrid Player

Diego Simeone's team have been criticised quite a lot recently, especially following their Champions League elimination by Manchester City.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Antonio Cassano has ripped into Diego Simeone, and his Atletico Madrid team's style of play, claiming the draw to Manchester City was played with 'disgraceful' football.

Atletico came under a lot of criticism during their recent Champions League elimination at the hands of Premier League leaders City, in the quarter finals.

The Spanish side seemed hell bent on not losing the first leg in England, playing a 5-5-0 formation, eventually being undone by Phil Foden late in the game, and didn't record a single shot.

Advert

It led to Dutch legend Marco van Basten claiming that fans would 'rather watch Netflix' than Simeone's team play football, although considering Netflix's recent drop in subscriptions that might not be 100% true.

The second game was a bit of an improvement from Simeone's side, as far as attacking went, but there was some questionable tactics late in the game.

Now Cassano, a former Real Madrid player, has criticised the team's style of play, and brandished 'disgraceful.'

"Atletico Madrid's playstyle is disgraceful," the former Roma player told his Twitch stream.

Advert

"In football you have to play, create goalscoring opportunities. You can't only think about defending."

It's not the first time Simeone has been criticised. Image: PA Images
It's not the first time Simeone has been criticised. Image: PA Images

Ironically in the second leg, in Madrid, it was Atleti who had more chances in the game than Pep Guardiola's team, and looked more likely to score.

However it was the antics at the end of the game that riled many in football, especially as Stefan Savic lost his cool with Jack Grealish and pulled the City forward's hair.

Advert

The defender and the England international were then involved in a brawl in the tunnel after full time, with the police even having to get involved.

After the game Simeone was asked about helping local rivals Real, after their win over Chelsea set up a semi-final against City, so he walked out of the press conference.

Ironically Simeone wasn't happy with the referee after the City loss. Image: PA Images
Ironically Simeone wasn't happy with the referee after the City loss. Image: PA Images

It's not just in Europe where the team have struggled for goals recently, with Atleti only bagging twice in the past three games in La Liga, and not having many chances on targets.

Advert

Their troubles in front of goal have seen them drop below Barcelona and are only four points clear of fifth place Real Betis in the race to finish in the top four and qualify for next season's Champions League.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: La Liga, Spain, Atletico Madrid, Diego Simeone, Champions League

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

X

@Sidler28

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
9 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    Man Utd 'decide' new striker target after accepting defeat in Viktor Gyokeres transfer saga

    Manchester United have another striker on their radar after losing out on Viktor Gyokeres.

    Football
  • 9 hours ago

    Marcus Rashford has made his feelings clear on Harry Kane amid Bayern Munich links to Man Utd outcast

    Marcus Rashford would relish the opportunity to play with Harry Kane judging by his comments about the Bayern Munich star.

    Football
  • 10 hours ago

    Scott McTominay's next Napoli team-mate has already walked out on club

    The player claimed that his former manager called him a 'troublemaker'.

    Football
  • 11 hours ago

    Women's Euros star receives ban for first group match after incident that happened 355 days ago

    A player will have to wait for her first appearance at this year's Women's European Championships following a 2024 incident.

    Football
  • Kylian Mbappe banned from attending Real Madrid's derby with Atletico Madrid
  • Conor Gallagher sends stadium wild by speaking Spanish during Atletico Madrid unveiling after Chelsea transfer
  • Diego Simeone reveals what he told Thibaut Courtois directly as Atletico fans threw 'poo' at him vs Real Madrid
  • Diego Simeone goes wild on touchline after seeing what Conor Gallagher did in final moments of Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao