Diego Simeone said that Atletico Madrid had “competed well” this season despite losing to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinal.
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Atletico “competed well” this season
Barca won 1-0 in the semifinal second leg at the Metropolitano to reach 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.
Simeone’s side are currently nine points off the top of the LaLiga 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.”
The struggle continues
Atlético were LaLiga leaders in January after a 15-game winning run across all competitions.
However, they have gone winless in their last six games this past month.
Real Madrid prevailed on penalties in the Champions League to reach the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Atletico suffered defeats to Barcelona and Getafe before drawing against Espanyol.
“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.”
