Simeone: “We are proud of what we have done”
Atlético's coach said his side "started really well but we lacked consistency and Levante put in a very good game".
Diego Simeone, who is serving a three-match suspension, had to watch his team scrap it out with Levante from the stands. The Argentine was able to give his impressions on the match afterwards.
Bearing in mind that Atleti are out of the title race, who would you prefer to see crowned champions? Neither of them.
The team surrendered an early lead. Do you think they lacked tension to go all out for a second goal and kill the game off? No I don't think so. We started really well but we lacked consistency and Levante put in a very good game, they were more consistent. They closed us down well, they didn't let us string together passing moves apart from the ones which produced chances from Griezmann and Savic. Levante are a very noble side - they fought right to the end even though they were already relegated. It's these things which make football great - even a team which has made the Champions League semi-finals can lose.
Could this be an after-effect of the efforts put in in Munich? There are no excuses. We're coming to the end of a fantastic season and we were one game away from battling for the title with Barcelona and Real Madrid. That makes me happy because in other seasons, we were out of the running with 10 games left to play. We still lack a little obviously. It's a bit painful to be left out of the race on the final day, but I am filled with happiness knowing that we will fight to the last minute of the season.
What did you say to your players? That I am very proud of what we've done, there's nothing better than a shot of reality to get your strength back. Now we have to end the season second if we can, if not, third...