Diego Simeone criticises refereeing performance in Atletico Madrid’s defeat to Lille

Atletico Madrid faced another setback in the Champions League on Wednesday, suffering a 3-1 defeat to Lille at the Metropolitano Stadium.

This loss marks consecutive defeats for Los Colchoneros, significantly diminishing their chances of automatic qualification for the knockout stage.

Atletico initially took the lead but soon conceded three goals without reply. A pivotal moment occurred when Lille

Read full articlewas awarded a contentious penalty at 1-1, allowing Jonathan David to score and put the French team ahead.

Diego Simeone expressed his frustration regarding the decision, as reported by Diario AS.

Simeone questioned the referee's call, stating, “There’s nothing. Why did they whistle? They said handball, then a push. Hopefully, we can see something. Someone from UEFA should clarify that the referee was correct and that VAR did not intervene for a reason.

It would be nice if we could benefit from such a situation. The penalty shifted the game to 1-2, and once again, bad luck has cost us dearly.”

In addition to the officiating, Simeone criticized his team's failure to capitalize on their early advantage. “Before the referee's significant error and the VAR, it was our inability to convert chances into goals.

We played well, creating three or four scoring opportunities, but we lacked the decisiveness required in this competition.”

He acknowledged the challenges ahead, stating, “We had opportunities, and the penalty changed the course of the match. We are in a tough spot in the Champions League, with a difficult game against PSG coming up.”