Simeone ‘proud’ of players despite Atleti loss [divider]

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone revealed that he was proud of his players despite losing 3-2 against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.

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“I feel proud of my players,” Simeone was quoted as saying by AS.

“The first half was extraordinary. They showed a great rebellious spirit. It was very difficult to play because the ball was jumping around like a rabbit. They played on the counter-attack, which they do not usually do, and they did it very well.”

Neymar struck twice as Barcelona came from behind to record a 3-2 victory over nine-man Atleti and reach the Copa del Rey semi-final.

The fiery game saw the referee Gil Manzano brandish 13 yellow cards and send two players off.

Atleti star Arda Turan was lucky not to become the third player to be sent off for his shoe throwing incident in the first half.

Turan responded to his boot coming off in a challenge by throwing it at the assistant referee. The boot narrowly missed the official’s head and resulted in the Turkish international being shown a yellow card.

The Rojiblancos face Eibar next in the La Liga on Saturday. The reigning champions are currently third in the league just four points behind leaders and cross-city rivals Real Madrid.