Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has insisted that he is “not afraid” that Saul Niguez will leave the Vicente Calderon.
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Atletico Madrid have received praise from Sam Allardyce, who is a huge admirer of their remarkable defensive solidity under Diego Simeone.
“It’s still wide open”, Simeone said.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak made a number of great chances to keep their opponents at bay following a second-half onslaught of efforts to find a leveller.
“It was a fantastic night and I’m happy for all Atletico fans”, said Torres. Real Madrid had Luka Modric, City don’t have a player like that.
The defeat ended Bayern’s 11-game unbeaten streak and kept the German side winless in their past eight knockout games away from home. “I know that people say if I don’t win the Champions League my work won’t be complete, but I’ve been very lucky to have experienced what I have in Germany”, added Guardiola. “It’s not a great result for us… but we still have 90 minutes”.
“We’ll make sure we give everything and I hope we can pass to the final”. But coach Pep Guardiola acknowledged that his side will have to step up if they want to reach the final on 28 May.
Bayern lost the first legs of their semi-finals in the previous two seasons to Real Madrid and Barcelona on their way out of the competition. It was the team’s ninth loss in 13 trips to Spain. The main difference between Guardiola and Simeone is that Guardiola has done it already.
“It’s a pity that we didn’t get rewarded in the second half because we tried everything”. Bayern threw all they had at Atletico with few chances begging as the closest they came was an Arturo Vidal’s effort hitting the cross bar. “We need patience and we only need a goal to take the game to extra time”.
“I think the first half was much closer to what we wanted”. “We created a lot of chances, but in the end, it was not enough”.
Niguez eased past four Bayern challenges before curling left-footed in off the far post.
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The run and finish led to comparisons to Barcelona superstar Messi, who has scored numerous goals by gliding past defenders.
