Diego Simeone was not looking for excuses as Atletico Madrid lost 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in their FIFA Club World Cup opener.
Los Rojiblancos struggled in the California heat as Luis Enrique’s team overpowered them throughout the majority of the game..
First half goals from Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha set the tone for the newly crowned UEFA Champions League winners as Simeone’s team battled to half time.
The contest turned for Simeone with two instances either side of the restart, as Antoine Griezmann was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Julian Alvarez saw a goal ruled out by VAR.
Referee Istvan Kovacs initially allowed the goal to stand, as Alvarez slotted home to drag Atletico Madrid into the game, to make the score 2-1.
However, the Romanian was advised to take another look via the VAR pitch side monitor at the Rose Bowl.
As part of a trial for VAR decisions to be announced to the crowd at the tournament, Kovacs disallowed the goal following a foul by Koke on Desire Doue in the build up.
“After the on field review, No.6 for Atletico Madrid [Koke] committed a free-kick, goal cancelled.”
Kovacs caused further frustration for Simeone as he sent off Clement Lenglet with a second yellow card for dissent late on.
Simeone acknowledged the row surrounding the referee in his post match press conference but focused on what is ahead for his squad.
“I’m bored of talking about repetitive topics. We played against a great opponent, who were better than us. But the details are obvious,” as per quotes from Diario AS.
“We could have tied the game with Griezmann’s shot, but the goalkeeper saved it, and we’re left with a difficult situation. A 4-0 defeat is very negative, but it depends on us to react.”
Up next is a clash with MLS side Seattle Sounders on June 19 followed by a trip back to Pasadena to face Botafogo on June 23.
