Atletico Madrid captain Koke has said he stands by his side’s antics in the closing stages against Manchester City and pointed the blame at their Premier League opponents.
City stood up in the face of intense hostility at the Wanda Metropolitano to grind out a 0-0 draw which saw them progress 1-0 on aggregate.
The closing stages were marred by ugly scenes on the field, with both sets of teams embroiled in a bust-up.
The flashpoint occurred in the final few minutes when Phil Foden, who withstood a battering from Diego Simeone’s side, rolled back onto the pitch after being fouled by Felipe Luis. Stefan Savic proceeded to grab Foden by the collar of his shirt, sparking a melee involving all 22 players, plus players off the bench.
Savic was then spotted pulling Jack Grealish’s hair, but somehow avoided a red card despite committing multiple indiscretions. Felipe did see red, but City still had to ride out more than 10 minutes of pressure in stoppage time to seal their semi final spot where they will face Real Madrid. The animosity continued after the full-time whistle, with police forced to intervene in scuffles in the tunnel.
Atletico have come in for intense criticism for their actions, but Koke has accused City of gamesmanship and said they were ‘took to madness’ by the English champions. "I don't know what happened because I was on the bench and he caught me in the other corner. football situations,” he said of the red card.
“The game takes you to that madness when you see that you have chances and they throw themselves on the ground and lose time. They criticise us for that many times and let's see what people think of it today."
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Pressed on what he felt was time wasting by City, Koke added: "Today it has been seen. Many times we are Atlético who are criticised and today we are proud of what the team has done.
"We wanted to be in the semis, we are hurt, but proud of this Champions League and we will never stop believing. Now to focus on LaLiga to get into the Champions League.”
John Stones was one of many City heroes on display in the Spanish capital and admitted it wasn’t nice to focus on Atleti’s extra-curricular activities. “We know they sometimes try and make things happen like that. I thought we dealt with it really well,” he told BT Sport.
“It’s not nice to talk about that, I don’t want to dwell on it too much because over two legs I think we played incredible against such an experienced team in what they do, in such a low block.
“I’m so proud of the lads today on how we kept control and our tempers. It’s so easy to get drawn in, so happy to be through, great night.”
The England defender added: “We knew it’s not easy, it’s my first time. Hostile environment. From talking to boys who have been here before and who know their players and how they play, it was a difficult night all round. I think how we defended, how we controlled ourselves, over two legs was incredible.”
