Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone admitted his behaviour was unjustifiable after he was sent off after a heated altercation with a Liverpool fan after the home side's stoppage time winner in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Argentine had seen his side claw back a two-goal deficit but Virgil van Dijk then headed into the net in the 92nd minute to condemn Atletico to a 3-2 defeat at a raucous Anfield.
Simeone appeared enraged by a Liverpool fan behind the technical area and was eventually sent down the tunnel by Italian referee Maurizio Mariani.
Afterwards he said he had endured insults for 90 minutes.
“There have been insults all match, but hey, I'm the one who has to stay calm and endure everything: insults, gestures, et cetera,” he told Movistar.
"[Liverpool] been talking about putting on a good show but they insult you all match from behind and you can't say anything, because I'm the coach.
“My reaction to the insult isn't justifiable, but you don't know what it's like to be insulted for 90 minutes non-stop.
“And of course, when the opponent's goal is just around the corner, you turn around and they keep insulting you, and with the tension, what happens is what happens.
“The referee told me he understood, but I hope Liverpool can improve and if they identify who did that, there will be consequences.”
Asked later during his press conference what exactly had been said to make him lose his cool, he said: “I'm not really going to get into the exact nature of the insult, I don't want to get in that discussion.
“I've got to stay in my place, I know what went on behind the manager's bench, I can't solve society's problems.
“Never good when we react as managers, is it? When they scored the third goal, he insulted me, I turned around again, I'm human.”
Simeone praised his team who showed great resilience after conceding twice in the opening six minutes but hit back with a double by Marcos Llorente.
“We were unlucky with the first goal, it threw us off course, but with the spirit and quality of the lads we got back into the match, and with Llorente, who had a great match, we raised our level,” he said.
“We had the match on the edge until a great goal from Virgil left us with a bitter taste in our mouths but with spirit.”
Van Dijk headed home a last-gasp goal in stoppage time to lead Arne Slot's men to a thrilling victory.
Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah also scored and set up another on an entertaining evening that also saw the Reds debut of British record signing Alexander Isak.
Liverpool stormed out of the gate with two goals before the game was six minutes old. Andy Robertson struck in the fourth minute in his first start of the season when Salah's free-kick ricocheted off him and over the line past goalkeeper Jan Oblak who was rooted to the spot.
Salah bagged a goal of his own two minutes later when he muscled through three Atletico defenders after a quick one-two with Ryan Gravenberch, then slotted into the far corner from an angle.
But the visitors grew into the game and Llorente clawed one back with his first goal of the night on the stroke of half time before equalising in the 81st with a sumptuous volley that took a deflection on its way in.
It felt like a recurring nightmare at Anfield as Llorente played the hero in 2020 against Liverpool too, scoring twice as Atletico knocked them out of the Champions League last 16.
Liverpool had 20 shots to the visitors' 10 and their numerous near-misses, including a sitter Salah rang off the post.
Slot's team are looking to build on last season's strong league-phase performance before they lost to eventual winners Paris St Germain in the last 16.
Forward Harry Kane scored once in either half to guide German champions Bayern Munich to a 3-1 victory over England's Chelsea in their Champions League opener on Wednesday night.
The England striker scored Bayern's second goal with a 27th-minute penalty after an own goal by Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah had put the hosts in the lead in the 20th.
Cole Palmer pulled one back for Chelsea just two minutes later, but Kane, who has already scored five goals in three Bundesliga matches, struck again with a clinical low finish in the 63rd.
Bayern, who crushed Hamburg SV 5-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, continued their unbeaten run across all competitions while Chelsea, unbeaten in the Premier League, tasted defeat for the first time this season.
PSG picked up where they left off after5 last season’s triumph as they kicked off with an impressive 4-0 win over Atalanta at Parc des Princes.
Marquinhos opened the scoring inside the first three minutes, and PSG followed that up with goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes and substitute Goncalo Ramos, demonstrating the high-pressing and fluid play that have become hallmarks of their game.
Bradley Barcola missed a penalty just before half time, but it proved to be a footnote as Luis Enrique’s side underlined their status as defending champions.
Marcus Thuram powered home two headed goals as Inter Milan banished the demons of last season’s final and won their opening game of the new group campaign 2-0 away at Ajax Amsterdam.
Inter were hammered 5-0 by PSG in May’s final in Munich and came into Wednesday’s clash at the Johan Cruyff Arena after successive defeats in Serie A but proved too strong for their Dutch hosts with the French international taking centre stage.
Reuters
