Guardiola wanted nothing to do with that characterization. Appearing in his own press conference after the match, he had this to say about Simeone.
“I have only ever had good words to say about him. He can play however he wants, of course. I would never say otherwise. All I said was that it is very hard. And they know how to do that better than anyone in the world.”
“Don’t be mistaken, I never criticized Atlético,” said Guardiola pointedly. ”
Moving on to analysis of the actual football, which at times seemed lost on the night, Guardiola was content just to make it through. Their hosts had increased the pressure in the final stages of the match. The Guardian recorded his responses.
“They pushed us back, we forgot how to play. That’s to their credit. We’re celebrating going through but after that second half, we could be out. We were in big, big trouble. They had chances to score, but they didn’t in the end.”
Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the semi-finals, with the first leg taking place on the 26th of April.
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