Diego Simeone insists he didn't realise he'd been pelted with bottles as he raced down the Old Trafford touchline after his Atletico Madrid side had knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League.
Renan Lodi's first-half goal was enough to secure Atletico a 2-1 victory on aggregate and they protected their lead in the second half in a manner that infuriated United's fans, players and coaching staff. Atletico spent much of the half time-wasting, a tactic helped by the decisions of referee Slavko Vincic, and Old Trafford erupted in fury at the final whistle.
READ MORE: Rangnick criticises referee over Atletico Madrid time-wasting
Simeone initially celebrated wildly around his technical area before sprinting down the touchline towards the tunnel. He was then targeted by bottles from the crowd, before Vincic and his assists came in for similar treatment.
But Simeone insisted he hadn't noticed being pelted with bottles and was running to reach the sanctuary of the changing room, telling reporters: "No, when I came off the pitch, I ran because I was happy and I like to enjoy it in the dressing room."
"So I don't know what happened. What you just said, all I was thinking about was getting into the changing room to the dressing room, and I was really happy."
United were the better side for the first half an hour of the second leg. But once Lodi had scored before the break they rarely looked like getting back into the game.
"We managed to hit them on the counter and hurt them. That gave us a positive result," added Simeone.
"In the second half, we continued to control the game. And we felt more comfortable we know that our opponent play well on the counterattack, so we tried to reduce spaces. Collectively, there was some great effort put in by our centre backs and it was a collective performance. I didn't really have to make changes because the work was so good collectively today.
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"You have to suffer in a game against Manchester United away from home in the Champions League. And once again, we're in the final eight of this competition which is extraordinary you know after what we've done in the league, it's a fantastic achievement."
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