Rangnick fires back at Atlético: They kept rolling on the ground. They’ve been playing like this for 10 years

Manchester United had to endure a bitter defeat at home which saw Atlético Madrid knocked out of the Champions League. But coach Ralf Rangnick was not at all happy with the playing style of Simeone’s charges.

The first match ended 1-1, so everything was open in the rematch. In the first half, Manchester United was clearly the better side, but they couldn’t score and Atlético punished in their classic way. Griezmann took advantage of a quick break, whose centre was finished by Renán Lodi and the Colchoneros took the lead.

Even with some stalling, perhaps even simulation. That’s just part of Atlético, Simeone’s charges help themselves like that in every important match. It’s not only supposed to help the result, but also to frustrate the rival, which was done perfectly here.

“I don’t know if two minutes went by in the second half without an Atlético player on the ground. Some of the referee’s decisions were strange and that set up four minutes? What a joke,” Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick raged after the game.

“They’ve been playing like this for 10 years. It’s their style. It was very important not to score. Atlético play that style in the Champions League and it’s not easy,” the German coach added.

He also complained about Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic. According to him, he should have blown the whistle before Manchester’s goal.

However, Atlético once again handled an important match in their own style. Score a goal, get stuck in front of their own goal and not concede. As Rangnick said, the Rojiblancos reached the Champions League final twice and the semi-finals once under Simeone in this way.

Source: Marca