"It is the first time that this has happened on a football pitch"

Atletico Madrid defender Clement Lenglet considered on Wednesday, after the elimination in the round of 16 of the Champions League, that Julian Alvarez's penalty, with his slip and an alleged two-touch, “was very strange”, but “that's the rules and you have to accept them”.

“We understood it because the referee was listening to something. The second time he made the gesture of two touches, but it's the first time that has happened on a football pitch. It was very strange, but that's the way the rules are and you have to accept them. It's difficult today,” he said.

“We came out strong in the game, but there were 90 minutes left. If you go out to attack them, you leave spaces for their very good strikers. I think we did pretty well during the two games, but in the end it didn't go our way and it's Madrid who win the tie,” he said.

Lenglet admitted that “right now” they are “a bit sad about the result” and for not having qualified for the quarterfinals of the Champions League. “I think we deserved it, but in the end football is a thing of details. There were details in the first leg and in the second leg,” he explained in the mixed zone.

“It's up to us to pick ourselves up, because there are important matches coming up and in a few days. Those teams don't wait for you, you have to be at 100% if we want to compete against them,” said the centre-back as he looked ahead. On Sunday, Barcelona awaits: “The team has shown a lot of things to be a team that can fight against everyone”.