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Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has spoken about his confrontation with Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr in the aftermath of their Copa del Rey clash on January 18. The Argentine manager was seen at full-time in a heated argument with the Real Madrid ace as the match ended 4-2 to Atletico after extra time.
For the second time in just over a week, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid faced each other, this time, in the familiar surroundings of Madrid. Los Blancos won the previous meeting 5-3 after extra time in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final in Saudi Arabia.
The Wanda Metropolitano Stadium hosted the Copa del Rey Round of 16 meeting on Thursday, which Los Colchoneros won in extra time.
Diego Simeone was involved in a spat with Vinicius Jr at the end of the match but has played down the confrontation as being in the heat of the game. The manager replied when asked in his press conference about the confrontation, that there was nothing to talk about there.
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He said (via Get Football News Spain):
“With Vinicius? There’s nothing to comment on. These are things that happen on the pitch.”
Atletico Madrid successfully exacted revenge on their city rivals as they played out a second 120-minute match in just over a week. Their last meeting was in the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh, where Los Blancos claimed a 5-3 win after extra time to reach the final.
Simeone's side took full advantage of their greater rest period, having arrived in Spain from Saudi Arabia much earlier than their rivals, to aid their victory. Carlo Ancelotti's team beat Barcelona in the final of the Super Cup on Sunday. They surely felt the effects of fatigue in extra-time of their defeat on Thursday.
Atletico Madrid defeat Real Madrid to secure Copa del Rey quarterfinal ticket
A place in the last eight of the Copa del Rey was up for grabs when Atletico Madrid faced Real Madrid on Thursday. It was also a chance for either team to position themselves as proper contenders for the trophy, as they are two of the biggest clubs in Spain.
Atletico took the lead in the first half when enterprising forward Samuel Lino (39') opened the scoring for them. However, Jan Oblak conceded an own goal on the cusp of half-time. Alvaro Morata (57') restored the lead for Los Colchoneros in the second half. Joselu (82') found another late leveler for Los Blancos to send the game to extra-time.
Simeone's side had more in their tank in the 30 minutes that followed, and it was no surprise when Antoine Griezmann (100') fired them ahead. There was also time for young forward Rodrigo Riquelme (119') to score and seal the result for his side.
