Simeone: Messi magic won it for Barca

Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2012 by ESPN

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone believes that Lionel Messi's wonder goal was the only reason Barcelona deserved all three points in their 2-1 win at the Vicente Calderon.

Radamel Falcao's strike early in the second half appeared to have earned Atletico a draw after Daniel Alves had opened the scoring in the first half.

However, Lionel Messi stepped up in the 81st minute and floated in an unsavable freekick to gift Barcelona a precious 2-1 win to keep their already-fading title hopes alive.

Simeone rued the fact that his side failed to even earn a point despite playing well enough to deserve a lead in the second half, but credited Messi for his wonderful performance.

He said after the match: "Results are always fair. We tried to play the game in a specific way and close down the spaces."

"In the first half it was difficult for us and in the second half the game was more open. We could have taken the lead, but a genius [Messi] left us with nothing.

"The referee was did well, although there were some little issues," concluded the coach.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid striker Adrian felt that his side should have gotten at least a point from the tie.

"We played really well and we did not deserve to lose," he told reporters after the match.

"After the break, the coach [Simeone] told us that only one goal was setting the two teams apart and that we could turn things around if we worked hard.

"Right after that we were able to equalise and that allowed us to push more and not let Barca relax."

The result leaves Atletico three points behind the Champions League qualification places, and Adrian has called on the team to show a reaction in the upcoming visit to Sevilla.

"It will be a very important and complicated match," the Spanish striker noted. "We will go for the three points because that is the path we have to follow."

Atletico Madrid are ninth in the La Liga standings with 38 points, three behind fourth-placed Levante and travel to Sevilla, who are level on points with them, in a week's time.