Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone lamented his team’s missed opportunities after a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash on Tuesday.
Despite dominating for long spells, Atletico failed to make their control count. However, Simeone praised his side’s response to conceding early and remains optimistic about overturning the deficit at the Metropolitano next week, just as they did against Inter Milan in last season’s knockout stage.
“We needed to capitalize better when we had control,” Simeone said. “We managed their counterattacks well, but lacked sharpness in the final third.”
He believes Atletico will draw strength from their home crowd in the return leg and acknowledged that Real could have widened the gap late on, had Kylian Mbappe connected with Vinicius Jr in a promising attack.
“Perhaps that missed chance keeps our hopes alive for what’s to come,” he added.
Atletico will now aim to turn the tie around and secure a spot in the quarter-finals.
