Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 7y

Diego Simeone pleased with Atletico Madrid display despite loss to Bayern

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said his team's performance left a "positive taste" as they progressed to the round of 16 of the Champions League as group winners despite their 1-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Lewandowski's superb free kick was enough to give Bayern the victory on the night, but previous results meant that Atletico kicked off knowing they had already won Group D and would be seeded in the next round.

Yannick Carrasco missed two early chances for Atletico, while Bayern winger Arjen Robben had two second-half penalty claims turned down in a game which lacked the intensity of a competitive encounter.

"We had two big chances early in the game," Simeone told reporters. "Then Bayern were the better team, had more possession and scored a very good goal. The second half was more even, and in the last 15 minutes we played with more intensity, pressed better, so we can leave with a positive feeling, despite the defeat."

Given Atletico were already guaranteed top spot, Simeone rotated his side with opportunities given to little-used summer signings Sime Vrsaljko and Nico Gaitan, along with homegrown youngsters Lucas Hernandez and Thomas Partey over the course of the game.

Simeone said he was happy with the work put in by his team, apart from the period when Bayern's dominance had been rewarded with Lewandowski's goal.

"The work of the players was very good," Simeone said. "It is always difficult at times, but we did well, especially near the beginning of the first half and in the second."

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