Ammon News - Koke expressed pride in Atletico after they exited Champions League with 0-0 draw at home to Man City; game ended in chaos after Felipe red card and brawl between players in tunnel; Diego Simeone said his side had been praised with "disdain"; Pep Guardiola distanced himself from criticism.
Atletico Madrid captain Koke defended his side's ill-tempered antics during their Champions League exit to Manchester City - though did hit out at alleged time-wasting from Pep Guardiola's side.
City progressed through to the Champions League semi-finals thanks to a 0-0 second-leg draw at the Wanda Metropolitano - to go through 1-0 on aggregate - in a resolute defensive display despite chaos emerging at the end of the tie.
At the start of nine additional minutes of second-half stoppage time, both sets of players were involved in a mass scuffle after Felipe fouled Phil Foden near the byline. Stefan Savic tried to pick the injured Foden up off the floor, which caused the scuffle, while the ex-City defender was also seen trying to headbutt Raheem Sterling and pulled Jack Grealish's hair.
Felipe, meanwhile, was shown a second yellow card for his tackle on Foden and role in the scuffle, but midfielder Koke claims City's time-wasting antics allowed Atleti players to become frustrated.
"The match takes you to that madness when you see that you have chances and they drop to the ground and waste time," the Atleti captain said in a post-match interview.
"Many times we are criticised for this situation, but today it was them. Let's see what people think of this. Today it has been seen, we are Atletico de Madrid and I am proud of this team.
"I'm proud of my team-mates for the effort. I have nothing to reproach the team with. I'm proud of everyone and the fans, who have lost, stayed to applaud us after the game. This is Atletico."
Video footage from after the game showed that the brawl continued into the tunnel, with Grealish and Savic continuing their feud while both were held back by club staff at opposite ends of the area.
Unused substitute Sime Vrsaljko, meanwhile, was seen throwing a bottle in the direction of Aymeric Laporte, with the Atleti man having to be held back from Kyle Walker in the tunnel as well.
UEFA says it will wait to receive reports from the referee and match delegate before deciding whether to open disciplinary proceedings.
Asking for his views on the incident, Atleti boss Diego Simeone said: "I didn't see it. I stayed on the pitch applauding the fans and saying hi to everyone on the pitch. So by the time I went upstairs everyone had gone."
Manchester City defender John Stones, meanwhile, admitted the mass brawl at the end of the game is "not nice to talk about" but hailed his side's reaction to Atleti's actions.
"We know they sometimes try and make things happen like that and I think we dealt with it really well," said Stones after the match. "It's not nice to talk about that. I don't want to dwell on that because over two legs we played incredible against such an experienced team in what they do.
"I'm so proud of the lads of how we controlled our tempers. It's so easy to get drawn into stuff like that. So happy to be through and a great night.
"We definitely knew it's not an easy place to come. It's my first time here and it's a hostile environment. It was a difficult night all round but how we defended and how we controlled ourselves was incredible."
Stones also addressed claims that Foden, who was the victim for both of Felipe's yellow card offences, was targeted by Atleti's players - but could only praise the young England international for his efforts over the two legs.
"[They started] early doors," said Stones about Atleti's treatment of Foden. "Phil was such a threat in both games, especially when he came on in the first time, an instant impact.
"Then in this game, he drove us up the pitch and gained us yards. He was outstanding, he's feeling it after the game now."
Pep Guardiola refused to criticise Atletico's approach after the game, and instead insisted that he was consistently positive about Simeone's tactics and that the former Argentina midfielder could set up his team in whichever way he liked.
Responding to Spanish reporters, the Man City manager said: "It was you who said that Simeone's cycle was always the same, it was you, three or four months ago. This is what you were saying when they were not winning matches. It was you, don't put it on me.
"I always said good things about the club and the team. El Cholo (Diego Simeone) can play the way he wants, nothing else."
Speaking after his side's exit, Simeone said he felt people had praised the style of Atletico - who are the reigning Spanish champions - with "disdain".
"I have no reason to comment about whether somebody says good or bad things," said Simeone. "Often those who have a wide vocabulary are very smart and they can praise you with disdain.
"But those of us who maybe don't have as much vocabulary, we are not stupid either."
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