Atleti manager Diego Simeone involved in verbal spat with Vini Jr
Real Madrid defeated Atletico in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final
Federico Valverde and Rodrygo scored goals for Los Blancos
Atleti manager Diego Simeone involved in verbal spat with Vini Jr
Real Madrid defeated Atletico in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final
Federico Valverde and Rodrygo scored goals for Los Blancos
Diego Simeone refused to pour further fuel on his clash with Vinicius Junior after Atletico Madrid's loss to Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana, having reportedly told the Brazilian he will be sold by president Florentino Perez.
Los Blancos teed up a meeting with Clasico foes Barcelona by beating Atleti 2-1 in Thursday's semi-final, with Federico Valverde scoring a stunning free-kick then assisting Rodrygo for Madrid's second goal.
Alexander Sorloth pulled one back for Simeone's men early in the second half, but they were unable to complete the fightback.
When Vinicius was substituted late on, tensions boiled over between the Brazil forward and Simeone, who was reportedly heard to say: "Florentino is going to kick you out. Remember he's going to kick you out."
Xabi Alonso hit out at Simeone's conduct in his post-match interview, accusing him of lacking respect, but the Atleti boss was keen to avoid picking more fights when speaking to Movistar.
"I have nothing to say. Since I was a player, the things that happen on the field end on the field," Simeone said.
"I don't remember it, my memory is complicated."
Atleti fired off 22 shots to Madrid's eight and won the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.26 to 1.14, leaving Simeone satisfied with many aspects of his team's performance.
He added: "They started the match with a great goal, a tremendous shot from Valverde.
"We fell behind, but we played the game we wanted to play, we created chances to score. In some cases, we lacked the incisiveness we normally have, and in others, [Thibaut] Courtois made some great saves.
"We competed very well. In the second half, we played almost entirely in their half, except for the counter-attacks, such as the one that led to their second goal.
"I can't fault my team. We congratulate our opponents and we'll continue working in this vein."