Madrid, April 23 (IANS) Spanish club Real Madrid’s coach Carlo Ancelotti and his Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone both said they were proud of their respective sides after their Champions League football quarter-final battle.
Striker Javier Hernandez’s 87th minute goal saw Real through to the semis with a 1-0 win on aggregate over two legs. The two sides drew their first leg 0-0. It was Real’s first win in eight attempts against their cross-town rivals, reports Xinhua.
It was the only goal in 180 minutes of football between the two sides in a quarter-final typified by tension and tight play. But Real deserved to emerge triumphant against a rival who failed to create any chances from open play in either of the two matches.
“We face a rival that was very strong in defence and they hardly give you any chances,” said Ancelotti, who added he had a “lot of respect,” for Atletico.
“We have won and we have lost against them, but they always work well at the back,” he said.
The Italian said he was content with the way the game developed in Madrid on Wednesday.
“I wanted the game to be like that, with us controlling the play, looking to attack, but being patient. We also tried not to concede set pieces and we maintained our concentration.”
“This was a key game for our season,” he added.
“Now we can still go for all our objectives, we are alive and that means we are very dangerous,” said the Real Madrid boss.
Simeone also had nothing but praise for his side.
“I’m going away proud of my team because of the way they competed tonight. My team is a team of men. They showed that, whatever happens, you have to compete. If you give your maximum out there, you can go home happy,” he said.
Simeone rejected claims that the 75th minute dismissal of his team’s star midfielder Arda Turan had been a turning point in the result.
“I’ve got nothing to say about Arda’s sending off because it’ s not going to change the result, isn’t it? We lacked connection up front,” he explained.
Real Madrid joined German side Bayern Munich, Italian outfit Juventus and Spanish club FC Barcelona in the semi-finals. The draw for the semis will be made on Friday.
