Argentinian coach Diego Simeone expressed his happiness after Atletico Madrid knocked out Inter Milan and advanced to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, winning 3-2 on penalties in the second leg of the Round of 16. Atletico secured their spot in the quarter-finals by defeating Inter Milan 2-1 in the second leg held at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Following the marathon victory over Inter Milan, Simeone broke down in tears, expressing his joy at reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament after a difficult win against his former team as a player.
In a press conference, Simeone said, "I want to thank our fans. I hold a lot of respect and appreciation for our supporters. We arrived at the game after two poor matches in Bilbao and Cádiz, but we felt the overwhelming support of the crowd. The fans play a crucial role in our stadium... the stadium led us to victory."
He added, "Returning to the quarter-finals of the Champions League seems easy, but it's not easy at all." Regarding facing Inter, he commented, "We played against an amazing opponent and our team excelled. Our defenders delivered an exceptional match," and specifically praised players Memphis Depay, Ángel Correa, Pablo Barrios, Rodrigo Riquelme, and goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
With this victory, Atletico Madrid joined the ranks of teams that have advanced to the quarter-finals of the prestigious Champions League, including Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund.
