Kieran Trippier has revealed that Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone used to tell his players to get in the faces of Liverpool when the two sides came to blows in the Champions League recently. The England international was in the Atletico side that lost twice to the Reds in this seasons group stage.
The Spanish champions came second to Liverpool in their Champions League group and went on to knock Manchester United out at the last 16 stage before falling short against Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Atletico were criticised heavily on Wednesday night after losing 1-0 on aggregate against City, but the way they conducted themselves during the latter stages of the game came under the microscope.
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Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live during Wednesday's Champions League coverage, Trippier gave an account of the Atletico Madrid manager’s instructions for playing against Liverpool.
“When we used to play Liverpool and Chelsea, he used to say get in their faces, wind them up, run up to the referee,” said Trippier.
“All the things that you see them doing in the last game, with Vrsaljko and Grealish, and pulling his hair, these are the things that they do. It comes from the players themselves but the manager is one of those, he does it himself, he’s asking for a yellow from minute one if there’s a tackle.
“That’s what he wants, in the dressing room before the game, he wants you to get in the opposition player’s faces and wind players up. Not the hair pulling, but if one of the players get tackles, he wants you to get around the ref and just get in other players faces.”
