Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone denied his side had missed an opportunity to finish the tie after Wednesday's 0-0 draw at PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League last 16 first-leg clash.
Atletico spurned first-half chances through Luciano Vietto and Antoine Griezmann, and were then unable to take advantage when playing with a man extra for the final quarter when young PSV attacker Gaston Pereiro picked up two quick yellow cards.
The tie now looks evenly balanced ahead of the second leg at the Estadio Vicente Calderon on Tuesday March 15 -- when PSV will have top scorer Luuk De Jong back as they look for a valuable away goal.
Asked whether his side had let a golden chance escape on the night, the Colchoneros coach replied that he was happy with his team's performance and confident they would finish the job in the return game.
"We did not let anything escape us, it's just we did not score," Simeone said. "From the start of the game, we pressed them, we made chances. In the second half we managed the game. [Atletico goalkeeper] Jan Oblak was not involved in the game. So I got a good feeling from the team. We must be positive ahead of the second leg."
Four of Atletico's past eight games in all competitions have now finished 0-0 -- with key attacker Griezmann having scored in just one of those outings. Simeone said that despite the missed chances he was happy with how his team had played, and confident more goals would soon arrive.
"We had chances, dominated, even though we were away from home, that makes you happy with the players," Simeone said. "The goals will come. I am very patient. PSV were tough, quick on the break, but we had absolute control of the game. Vietto, Griezmann, Koke and [Angel] Correa had clear chances. We created a lot."
Asked about Saturday's looming La Liga derbi at Real Madrid, Simeone said he had not yet thought about the weekend's game.
"There will be time to think about that -- tonight is about the Champions," he said.