Argentine Diego Simeone, the coach of Atletico Madrid, expressed his great happiness at his team's qualification for the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, confirming that the team delivered a great performance against a very strong opponent.

Simeone said: "It has been 14 years now, seeing the team compete fills me with emotion. The players have changed, and we have started anew many times, and now we are among the best four teams in Europe. We faced a team that plays exceptionally and with incredible speed, making it difficult to control."

He continued: "Despite the mistakes, we managed to position ourselves in the game and maintain calm in play. The 2-1 goal was a wonderful goal, the second half was more balanced, the substitutions gave us extra energy, while they lost some speed and left spaces for crosses to Araujo and Lewandowski as seen at the end of the match."

He added: "The early goal was possible because they are a very good team, and if you make mistakes against them, they do not forgive. But we had to play, attack, and impose our offensive style, as the match cannot rely solely on defense, even though they force you to do so."

He continued: "We talked before the match with Lenglet, and he didn't have to prove anything. He is a great professional and a special person, with strengths and areas needing improvement. He made a mistake, and it's not easy to come out of such a situation, but he showed great character and performed well in the end."

He continued: "In the context of the two matches, whenever we compete, we know that the only way to face them is to attack, there is no other way. If you don't attack them, you will lose because they are strong offensively. In the cup, we had a great first half, then suffered there. In the Champions League, we capitalized on important moments in the first leg, and the 2-0 result gave us a margin for this tough match."

He added: "Griezmann's performance in the first half, the work of Llorente, Koke, and Molina, and the big game from Mateo, as well as the entry of substitutes, all gave us great strength to continue in the match."

He concluded his statements by saying: "Playing in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League is fantastic. We will go with all the enthusiasm and faith, we know our strengths and weaknesses, and we are ready and will go to achieve what we have been seeking for years. Tomorrow we need to rest, and I don't care about tomorrow's match, we have a final on Saturday and we must be up to the event."