Barcelona were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after their defeat 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid and 3-2 on aggregate. The result mans Barcelona wil not be able to defend their title. Lionel Messi Neymar and Luis Suarez did not look themselves last night as Antoine Griezmann stole the show with his brace.
Here is how players, managers, critics reacted to the huge result:
Diego Simeone was thrilled with the result and aimed for better in the semi-finals. “We want to annoy people in the semi-finals.” The coach was very porud of his players and the commitment they showed in the game.
“There is a virtue in this team, with the great work of the four and a bit years we have been together, I'm happy for these players who have come together in this team — I'm not just thinking about reaching the semifinals, it's more important than that.” he said.
“There are fewer values in society all the time, but we are a group of honest workers who can win or lose. We make ourselves strong with the tools we have.”
Despite being happy about the win he felt Iniesta should have been sent off. “I didn't see it [Gabi's handball] but they tell me it was inside the area. I saw the Iniesta penalty better and I thought it was a red card. These are difficult situations for the referee.”
Luis Enrique will definitely be dejected after the loss but he was still graceful about it and gave credit where credit is due. “At the start I expected an Atletico Madrid who attacked more," Luis Enrique said. "We did not suffer, had the ball, controlled the game. But they took advantage of our mistake and got ahead on the scoreboard."
“Then they did what they did best -- defend in their own half -- and we did not create enough dangerous situations. I congratulate Atletico Madrid, they were better than us”
At the same time, he admitted his players were not in the best of spirits after the game. “‘It was one of the targets for this season and the players are sad”. Leo Messi’s drought in from of goal continued but the manager did not put blame on any one player.“It is very unfair to point to individuals after a defeat, just like after a victory," he said.
"This is about us all, the players' attitude was unimprovable. But we are in a bad moment, in both attack and defence. He instead chose to blame himself for the defeat saying, “I am 99.9% to blame . . . no, 100%.
“But I am very proud of my players, and sorry for the Barca fans. Our objective was to win everything, but we must lift ourselves up now, which is also a challenge for the team. “
Jordi Alba also gave his view on the handball incident that denied Barca a late penalty, “"No penalty given for handball Atletico? Referee made a mistake, but we can't blame him for not qualifying.”
Javier Mascherano talked about how the team should react after the loss, "We can't change what happened, so we should look ahead. We have two competitions left, now first focus on the Liga.”
Rio Ferdinand was also all praise for the star on the night Antoine Griezmann. "This kid here, Griezmann - he's an unbelievable talent.” Another United legend Paul Scholes continued the compliments for the forward. “The team is exactly what Diego Simeone is [as a person] and what he was [as a player].”
Andres Iniesta who was at the centre of controversy for not being awarded a red card but also chose not to focus on the referee. “It’s not a question of whether the referee was right or wrong. That would solve nothing. It is difficult to take in because we’re out of such a nice tournament.”
"Difficult times like this always generate doubts but we have to turn the page and focus on what we have left. We're not in very positive form. We have to find strength from somewhere because what we still have to play for is very nice too”
Atletico Madrid’s captain Gabi was unsure if the handball was a penalty or not, “Sometimes they're given and sometimes they're not. If it's inside, I say it's a penalty.”
Gary Lineker also tweeted about the significance of the result:
Celebrity fan Piers Morgan used the result to take another dig at Arsene Wenger.
Antoine Griezmann expressed his joy on twitter
It translates to Never Stop Believing!
His teammate also Koke celebrated the win
Translation: The Calderon wins games. You have been amazing
Defensive rock Diego Godin was also ecstatic
Translation: Impressive performance. Thank you very much. A big step in search of our dream
