Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone admitted that he was going home annoyed with his own decision making after Tuesday's Champions League Group D clash at home to Rostov, even though his team's 2-1 win sealed progress to the knockout stages of the competition two games early.
Atletico opened the scoring just before the half-hour when Antoine Griezmann acrobatically flicked a volley to the net, but the Russians were back on level terms almost immediately when Sardar Azmoun coolly finished a neat team move.
Simeone's side came out fired up for the second half and dominated possession and territory but could not find a way through a packed Rostov defence until injury time when Griezmann got free in the area to hook the ball to the net for the winner.
The Colchoneros coach told his post-match news conference at the Estadio Vicente Calderon that his players had been able to sort out mistakes their coach had made in his approach to the game.
"It was a complete game, as we had expected," Simeone said. "[Rostov] do not usually lose by many goals. The players resolved it well. The coach, me, made some bad decisions and the players were those who sorted it out."
Pressed twice to clarify what those bad decisions were, Simeone preferred not to give details.
"I took bad decisions in various moments of the game," he said. "And I am going home annoyed at that. I am not going to open up about it. I will think about it tonight."
A fourth win from four Group D games sees Atletico through to the last 16 of the competition for a fourth consecutive season -- although Bayern Munich's 2-1 win at PSV Eindhoven means top spot will likely be decided when the La Liga outfit go to Germany in early December.
"The group was difficult for the opponents," Simeone said. "We are full of pride at the way the players we have compete. This is an important step as a first objective."
Rostov are only the second team to score against Atletico in last 15 Champions League games at the Calderon -- with the goal coming less than a minute after the visitors had restarted following Griezmann's opener.
"We knew that if we lost the ball infield we were going to suffer," Simeone said. "And that is how the goal came. We were very open."
Griezmann's two goals came after a run of four Atletico games without finding the net, but Simeone said the 2016 Ballon d'Or candidate had still been playing very well lately.
"When Griezmann has not scored, he has still been the most dangerous player in those games," he said. "He was not taking chances but he was still at the level we are used to for these players. The team is grateful because we need his presence in front of goal."