Simeone names the reason Atletico Madrid failed to beat Bayern

An under-strength Bayern Munich side held Atletico Madrid to a draw, costing the hosts a chance to qualify for the Champions League last-16.

Diego Simeone believes Atletico Madrid’s failure to take their chances cost them dearly in Tuesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw against Bayern Munich.

The Spanish giants welcomed the European champions to the Wanda Metropolitano, looking to grab a crucial victory that would’ve booked their spot in the knockout stages. And considering Bayern rested key players, things seemed promising.

Joao Felix handed Atletico control of the match by scoring the opening goal before the half-hour mark. But they couldn’t add another, with only three of their 13 attempts on goal on target. Thomas Muller’s 86th-minute penalty then snatched a point for Bayern.

“We are not being forceful enough in attack, but we do create chances,” Simeone told Movistar Plus as quoted by Goal. “Now we have a very tough game against Salzburg.

“A small scoreline means you can always be caught. But until the penalty, Bayern had no chances to score.”

Not helping matters was the loss of strikers Luis Suarez and Diego Costa to a positive COVID-19 test and a blood clot in the right leg respectively.

“It would not be fair to speak about the attacking players,” continued Simeone.

“Luis is missing through coronavirus, Diego is in his recovery phase and will be out for longer.

“The work we are doing is good, but we have to work harder on finishing situations. We are working on that in training.

“The players are working hard and are in good shape. It is not easy having this forcefulness that will solve our issues. In these situations, we will only improve.

“I liked the move for the goal… [Yannick] Carrasco’s pass to [Marcos] Llorente. We are already showing signs of more tranquility.”