Simeone admits Atletico Madrid must close gap after Bayern defeat

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone says his team must “close the gap” on Europe’s leading clubs after their nine-match unbeaten run ended with a 2-0 home defeat by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.

The result was decided by goals from Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer, leaving Atletico to reflect on a difficult night before a crucial meeting with Barcelona this weekend.

Atletico had collected four points from their opening three UEFA Champions League matches and arrived at the Metropolitano Stadium in strong domestic form as they pursued Barcelona at the top of LaLiga.

However, Bayern took control shortly after half-time. A mistake by Atletico defender Robin Le Normand allowed Lennart Karl to break the deadlock, with the forward finishing past Jan Oblak.

Konrad Laimer then secured the victory for the German side with a late second goal.

Simeone chose not to dwell on the defeat, with Atletico’s attention now turning to their league contest against Barcelona. The Argentine acknowledged that his side had competed well for much of the match but accepted that the leading teams can punish even small errors.

“We competed well until the first goal. We know their strengths, but also our own, and our weaknesses. Up until the first goal, we competed very well,” Simeone said.

The Atletico manager also pointed to previous matches against top-level opposition as evidence of the challenge facing his squad.

“We know when we play against top teams, this can happen. Liverpool and Bayern are better than us; we have to close that gap. We have to reach 120% because 100 is not enough.”

The defeat ended a run in which Atletico had gone nine matches without losing. Despite the setback, they remain involved in the race at the top of LaLiga and must now prepare for the visit to Barcelona this weekend.

Simeone’s side will also look to respond in the UEFA Champions League after Bayern’s victory, which exposed the narrow margins separating Atletico from the competition’s strongest teams.