Former Atletico Madrid star Gabi has blasted Liverpool over their mentality heading into their clash with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last week.
The Spanish giants secured a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Saul Niguez’s early goal giving them an advantage heading into the second leg at Anfield next month.
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The reigning European champions were unsurprisingly the favourites going into the game given their recent success in the competition and their domestic dominance this season, but they came up short and Gabi has criticised their approach to the game.
“It was a great result,” Gabi told Cadena Ser, as quoted by Marca. “I had goosebumps watching the bus arrive at the stadium with that support.
“I think Liverpool thought they were coming to play Puerta Bonita [a team in the Tercera Division], with respect to them. They underestimated Atletico, and that annoyed me a lot.
“I don’t think there was much in the video. They’d just beaten Liverpool – what better reason to celebrate. Simeone deserves more credit.”
It remains to be seen if Liverpool can turn the tie around at home, as they’ve had their fair share of magical nights at Anfield in Europe over the years.
Gabi will no doubt be watching closely and hoping that his former club can finish the job, but clearly he felt as though there was disrespect shown and an issue made out of nothing after the game when it came to Atleti celebrating the result.