Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone remained optimistic despite his team’s heavy 4-0 defeat against Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, emphasising that they were simply outplayed rather than lacking desire.
Benfica’s Kerem Akturkoglu, Angel Di Maria, Alexander Bah and Orkun Kokcu scored in a 4-0 demolition of Atletico Madrid on Wednesday to start their Champions League campaign with two consecutive wins.
A mistake by Atletico’s defence helped Akturkoglu open the scoring in the 13th minute and, after the hosts squandered several chances, including a strike off the post by Vangelis Pavlidis, another error ended with a penalty which Di Maria converted.
Bah extended Benfica’s lead with a header from a corner in the 75th minute and Kokcu completed the rout against Diego Simeone’s side from the penalty spot after Reinildo Mandava fouled substitute Zewki Amdouni.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak made a couple of stunning saves to deny late efforts which saved the visitors from an even worse humiliation.
“I always like to think positively, and I see this as a good opportunity to keep improving,” Simeone told Movistar Plus. “We had been doing a very good job; today we didn’t play the game we expected, but we must keep going.”
Acknowledging the poor performance, he stated, “We played badly. We have to accept that. The substitutions didn’t provide the spark we needed, and they were better today.”
Despite significant investments in the summer transfer market on high-profile signings like Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher, Atletico finished the match without a single shot on target.
Simeone offered no excuses and commended Benfica for their superior play. “There was no lack of tension, attitude, or desire to run; we just played badly. When you play poorly, you are exposed to losses like this,” he said.
“Some nights are not good, and we have to accept them. We need to learn from today’s experience and regain our energy for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad.”
