Simeone says Atletico Madrid’s defeat by Liverpool wipes out their positives

Diego Simeone said Atletico Madrid’s encouraging performance against Liverpool counted for little after their 2-1 defeat in the opening round of the Champions League league phase.

Atletico took the lead, but Liverpool turned the match around to claim victory in Madrid. Simeone felt his side performed well before half-time but failed to maintain that standard after the break.

“We played well against Liverpool in the first half, but in the second half we did not play as we should have,” Atletico manager Simeone told reporters.

“When you start making mistakes, all the work you have done becomes insignificant and has no value.”

The result continued Atletico’s recent problems in front of their own goal, with Simeone acknowledging that his team have conceded too many goals in their latest matches.

“We are conceding a lot of goals in recent games, but as I have said before, we are in a building phase,” he added.

“The supporters do not want to hear that, but we are building the team.”

Simeone insisted his players had given everything against Liverpool, while accepting that the small details ultimately decided the outcome.

“I believe the team gave everything it had,” he said. “The team wants to mature, and we have to accept those small details which made what we did count for nothing, because defeat wipes out any positives.”

He said Atletico now needed to improve their understanding of key moments during matches and adjust their approach accordingly.

“The team produced the performance required of it,” Simeone said. “We need to start reading the game and understanding the moments that demand a particular approach or require us to change it.

“I believe that is the reason we conceded the goals we did.”

Liverpool’s next Champions League match is against Austrian side LASK on 14 October, while Atletico Madrid face Manchester United on 13 October in the same round of fixtures.

The Champions League league phase features 36 teams, with each club playing eight matches.

The top eight sides in the standings will qualify directly for the last 16. Teams finishing from ninth to 16th will enter a play-off.