"It looked like we were playing at home" - Gimenez praises Atletico fans

Atletico Madrid defender Jose Maria Gimenez remarked on Tuesday, after the 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, his team's “full confidence” that the 'Colchonero' team can pull off the comeback in the second leg at the Metropolitano stadium.

“We have to correct what we did wrong, continue to improve our virtues and what we did well and full confidence that at the Metropolitano we can achieve it,” he said in the mixed zone at the Santiago Bernabeu, while giving the key to victory in the second leg of the tie in a week's time.

“To trust, to motivate ourselves with our people and to know that it is a final,” the Uruguayan center-back remarked to the media.

“The way we came, the way we played, the way the match went, I think so (they could have achieved something more on Tuesday). Until the goal I think we were totally better than them on the ball, but that's not enough. They have class, quality and with the slightest chance they score a goal,” he said.

Gimenez highlighted Julian Alvarez's equaliser as a great goal and thanked the fans for their support at the Bernabeu: “It felt like we were playing at home. We're going to need that in the second leg”.

 

March 4, 2025