Simeone: Atlético Madrid ‘competed well’ despite season’s disappointments

Diego Simeone insisted that Atlético Madrid had “competed well” this season after Barcelona knocked them out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Barça won 1-0 in the semifinal second leg at the Metropolitano — Ferran Torres scoring in the 27th minute — to progress to the final, 5-4 on aggregate.

Atletico’s defeat follows their elimination from the Champions League last 16 by Real Madrid last month, and Saturday’s 1-1 LaLiga draw at Espanyol, which left them nine points off the top of the table.

“Here’s what I think: the team, up to now, has competed well,” Simeone said in his post-match news conference on Wednesday.

“We competed well in the Champions League, we competed well in the Copa, and in the league we’re having a good season. We’ll keep going, trying to keep improving to get closer to the teams above us, and accepting the place that we have.”

Atletico were LaLiga leaders in January, after a 15-game winning run in all competitions, but have suffered a dramatic loss of form in the last month, going six games without a win.

Real Madrid prevailed on penalties in the Champions League — after Julián Álvarez’s spot kick in the shootout was disallowed for touching the ball twice — and in LaLiga, losses to Barcelona and Getafe preceded the draw at Espanyol.

The Copa del Rey semifinal first leg at Barça ended 4-4 on February 25, with Atletico fighting back from 4-2 down late on, but Wednesday’s second leg was a more low-key affair.

“In football, sometimes the opponent is better,” Simeone said. “In the second half, we corrected things, and we could have made it a draw. We competed well, against a team that plays well… They’re a great opponent, who at times will be superior to you.”

Defender José María Giménez apologised to Atletico fans for the team’s underperformance.

“[We have to] accept the reality,” Giménez said. “We know we’re a long way off, but we have to try in the league until the end… After that we’ll see if the season has been good or not so good.”