Simeone: There was a fight; I don’t know what happened with Diego Costa

Atletico Madrid manager, Diego Simeone had a lot to talk about following his side’s 1-0 against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday night, including the squad’s poor performance and the fight in the final moments of the match, that saw striker, Diego Costa receive a straight red card.

•  By Tom Conn       Follow @TomConnISF

In his post-match press conference, Simeone analysed the poor performance as well as the reaction from the locker room over the red card expulsion.

“We had a very bad first half.  We didn’t have any passion and were unable to produce.  If you don’t have the right attitude, you don’t play well.  In the second half the team was better.

“The team did what they needed to do and we could have tied the game.  I think we deserve a 1-1 draw against Viktoria Plzen.

“I saw what happened on the play in which Diego was sent off.  There was fighting in the area, but I didn’t exactly see what happened.

“We would have liked to have finished on top of the Europa League group.  I wish we had played in the first half like we did in the second.  We deserved a draw in the final stretch, but it wasn’t meant to be.  We’ll challenge whoever we draw in the next round.”