Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has admitted he regrets an altercation with a Liverpool fan after Virgil van Dijk’s late winner in last night’s Champions League clash at Anfield.
The Reds won a thrilling encounter with yet another late goal this season as Van Dijk headed home a corner in stoppage time to make it 3-2.
However, this sparked a row between Simeone and a Liverpool fan, with the Argentine speaking afterwards about how he’d been insulted for the entire 90 minutes.
Although Simeone admitted that he and all managers have to be able to put up with behaviour like this, he was also keen to stress that he’s a human being.
Diego Simeone calls on Liverpool to take action after fan insults
As quoted by BBC Sport after the game, Simeone said he hoped that there would be consequences for the fan involved.
“We [managers] are in a position where we are protagonists/standard bearers, so in the same manner that we fight against racism and insults in stadiums today, we could also fight on behalf of the managers, against the insults we receive throughout the whole game,” he said.
“It’s not easy to be in the position we are in and receive insults for the whole game. I saw it from far away after the third goal. I saw the third goal go in and I turned, the insults continued, and well, I’m a person.”
He added: “My reaction isn’t justifiable but do you know what it is like to be insulted for 90 minutes? I hope Liverpool can improve that aspect and that when they identify the person who did that, there will be consequences.”
Liverpool scrape through with another late goal
Liverpool have had a strange start to the season, with great results but occasional signs that they’re riding their luck a bit.
It took late goals for LFC to beat Bournemouth, Newcastle and Burnley, and they keep on conceding at a surprisingly high rate.
This was evident again last night as they went 2-0 up early on but couldn’t hold on, with Atletico fighting back to make it 2-2.
Thankfully for them, Van Dijk put them back in front again with that stoppage time header, but how long can Arne Slot’s side keep on leaving it late like this?