Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid have been staunchly defended for their ruthless approach to Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The current champions of Spain were dumped out of the quarter-finals after City secured a hard-fought draw at the Wanda Metropolitano in the second leg.
City, who secured a first-leg 1-0 win at the Etihad, saw the likes of Phil Foden battered and bruised by Simeone’s men in the nail-biting Champions League tie.
However, the tension on the pitch escalated after City progressed to the Champions League semi-finals, with all hell breaking loose between both sets of players in the Atletico tunnel.
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Speaking on talkSPORT, Jason Cundy claimed Atletico brought out their “black belt in [the] dark arts” and “loved” the drama created by Simeone’s men on the night.
“What Atleti did was black belt in dark arts. Is there another colour belt? They’ve got two black belts,” he said.
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“I don’t have a problem whatsoever with what Atletico did. It wasn’t a disgrace.
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“It’s not the worst thing you’ve ever seen. Adrian [Durham] was talking as if somebody had been murdered! There’s no murder going on out there.
“It was dark arts to the absolute maximum. It was unscripted drama and they nearly scored with 10 men.
“Give me that kind of football, the 50-man brawl, I loved it! That was drama and you couldn’t take your eyes off it.
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“This is who Simeone is! This is what his teams are like. He’s created an absolute demon.
“You don’t want to play against them, they were horrible, but I loved it.”
Manchester United legend Gary Neville also threw his support behind Simeone, with the Sky Sports pundit admitting that he “sort of enjoyed” Atletico’s behaviour.
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“I loved the RM [Real Madrid] v Chelsea match. Unpopular view but I loved the AM v City match too,” he tweeted.
“I know most were disappointed with the AM behaviour, but I sort of enjoyed it. Try and find a way to win, even if [you’re] inferior in talent.
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“City’s players will be proud this morning in overcoming it!”
City will now face Real Madrid in their first-leg Champions League semi-final tie at the Santiago Bernabeu on 4th May.
Topics: Atletico Madrid, La Liga, Spain, Football, Champions League, Manchester City, Premier League, England
Adnan Riaz