Atletico Madrid beat AC Milan by 2-1 at Giuseppe Meazza in a crucial Champions League encounter and the Colchonero manager Diego Simeone admits that the red card of Franck Kessie changed the game completely.
The Rossoneri went ahead midway through the first half from a brilliant strike from Rafael Leao. Stefano Pioli’s side dominated Atletico for the majority of the first half until the red card of Franck Kessie. Simeone’s side could not manage a single on target in the first half.
The story of the game changed completely after the interval as the Rossoneri went deep into their territory to protect the lead with a man short and the Rojiblancos took the advantage of that and kept on pushing for an equaliser.
Simeone’s side had to wait until the 84th minute to break 10 man Milan’s side. Antoine Griezmann scored the goal from a brilliant volley from just inside the box. In the end, Atletico found the winner deep into the stoppage time when Luis Suárez converted the penalty right down the middle, sending Mike Maignan the wrong side.
After the game speaking with Sportmediaset(Via Football Italia) Simeone said:
“Let’s start from the beginning. Milan was superior to us, played a very fast, dynamic style of football, which we already saw them play against Liverpool. Naturally, after the red card, they started to cede some territory and we started to get into a game that we hadn’t even started. After the break, we came out hungry, trying to break through a well-organised team. We really needed this victory.”
Franck Kessie red card turned the tide in the favour of Atletico:
After picking up the red card against Atletico, Franck Kessie will remain suspended for their next game against FC Porto in the Champions League.
Following this defeat, Milan has now endured back to back losses in Europe. After losing to Liverpool on an opening day. Pioli’s side had to find a positive result to keep their hope alive to reach the next round. But, it is getting tougher for the Serie A side to qualify for the knock-out stage.
Nevertheless, the Rossoneri will have four more games to turn the table around. Pioli’s side is currently sitting bottom of the group with no points.
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