In a sharp rebuke to Pep Guardiola's perceived criticism of Diego Simeone's side, Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo claimed Manchester City played 'pre-historic' football in Wednesday night's Champions League quarter-final.
City held on for a goalless draw at the Wanda Metropolitano to earn a 1-0 aggregate victory, but the night will be remembered for nasty scenes near the finish, with Atletico Madrid's Felipe sent off and City's Stefan Savic eluding a red card before players clashed again after the final whistle.
In the closing minutes, Atletico poured pressure on City, with John Stones making a critical block to deny Matheus Cunha, and Ederson saving Angel Correa in the 11th minute of stoppage time as Guardiola's side showed some defensive steel.
Although Guardiola insisted after Wednesday's match that he had never criticised Atletico's style, saying that "(Simeone) can play the way he wants," Atletico were unimpressed by comments made by the City manager after the first leg, in which he mentioned "pre-history" when discussing their 5-5-0 formation.
Cerezo retaliated on Thursday, speaking to Radio Marca.
'It was a game that, with a little luck, could have taken us all the way to the semi-finals.' We didn't have the good fortune to score a goal and force extra time,' he remarked.
'We are a high-status squad, so anyone can upset us, and in the end, it has been demonstrated that everyone has a backstory.' We played a good attacking game, while City played pre-history yesterday, defending and erecting a wall in front of their goal to prevent them from scoring.
'It's been seen by everyone.' City was a defensive-minded squad. They had one shot on goal in the second half. It was demonstrated yesterday that everyone has a pre-history.'
The heinous scenes in the closing stages of the match, which are expected to result in UEFA sanctions, drew widespread condemnation of Simeone's tactics of setting up his team to be aggressive in order to wind up opponents and influence officials.
Cerezo, on the other hand, backed the 51-year-old, who has twice led Atletico to the league title and twice reached the Champions League final.
'Simeone cannot be faulted in the sports and human aspects,' Cerezo remarked. 'He knows how to act in a variety of settings.' He'll stay with us because his tale is there, he's a winner, and he'll stay with us for as long as he wants.
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