Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has accused Atletico Madrid and their manager Diego Simeone of celebrating their Champions League first-leg win as if they had won the whole tie.
The Premier League leaders went behind after just four minutes in Madrid as Saul Niguez netted the only goal of the game from a corner and then Atletico frustrated the visitors by sitting deep and defending doggedly.
Simeone was typically animated on the sidelines, geeing up the crowd, while the players and fans celebrated wildly when the full-time whistle went – though Robertson was quick to remind them it is only half-time.
Asked if Simeone’s celebrations looked like Atletico had won the tie, Robertson told BT Sport: ‘Look that’s what he is you know. When you’re not playing against them it’s probably great to watch.
‘He’s full of enthusiasm, I think he was like that as a player and stuff like that.
‘So look, we’ve got no problem with that, but you know like you said they’ve celebrated as if they’ve won the tie after the game.
‘So let’s see. We’ve got a couple of weeks, we’ve got Premier League business to take care of, then they’re coming back to Anfield.
‘We know our fans will be there, we know we’ll be there. So it’s up to them to come as well.’
“They celebrated like they won the tie after the game, so let’s see.”
“They’re coming back to Anfield, we know our fans will be there.”
Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson know this one isn’t over yet ðª
ð @DesKellyBTS pic.twitter.com/5tJpyM9DvH
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 18, 2020
Asked about the histrionics from Atletico’s players, Virgil van Dijk said: ‘Yeah but that’s the way they play, that’s a bit of the Spanish football as well.
‘So you have to adapt, but we knew that, but I think we handled it pretty well. Sometimes it’s not easy but it’s part of their game and we needed to adapt.’
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