This archive report was first published on 12 March 2020.
March 12, 2020 - Liverpool's Champions League campaign came to an end after a 3-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid at Anfield, with the Spanish side winning 4-2 on aggregate.
Despite the loss, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp praised his team's performance in the first 90 minutes, saying they played exceptionally well.
However, Klopp couldn't resist criticizing Atletico's defensive tactics, saying they could play beautiful football but chose to stand deep and counter-attack.
'I don’t understand with the quality they have, the football they play. They could play proper football but they stand deep and have counter attacks,' Klopp told reporters.
Atletico's manager, Diego Simeone, responded to Klopp's criticism by saying that his team came to win and respected Atletico's identity and quality.
'We came here to win, I respect his identity and with the quality we have, we try to exploit deficiencies in the opposition, that’s what we do,' Simeone said.
Despite the disappointment, Liverpool remains on track to win the Premier League title, leading by 25 points with several games remaining.
