Diego Simeone appeared to suggest he felt disrespected by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola at the end of an enthralling Champions League quarter-final tie.
There was only one goal across the two legs, scored by Kevin De Bruyne in the first match at the Etihad Stadium.
But Atletico pushed City all the way in a goalless draw at the Wanda Metropolitano, despite losing Felipe to his second red card of the campaign in a frantic finale.
The two teams registered just six shots on target over the whole tie – the fewest since four between Deportivo La Coruna and Porto in 2003-04 – yet City held firm, becoming only the fourth team since the introduction of the last 16 to keep a clean sheet in both legs of the first two knockout rounds.
While it was City's defensive strength that saw them through, Simeone seemingly took issue with Guardiola's assessment of Atletico's own largely conservative approach. Atletico had frustrated their opponents in Manchester while not attempting a single shot.
"I have no reason to give my opinion about what someone else says, good or bad," Simeone said after Wednesday's draw.
"Very intelligent people with a great vocabulary can, while using words of praise, show they despise you. But those of us who don't have the same vocabulary are not stupid."
Guardiola insisted he had not criticised Atletico, speculating whether the reporter who quizzed him on the topic had in fact been "one of those who said the time of Cholo Simeone was over".
"Don't tell me," the City boss replied. "I have always had good words of praise for this club and for this team. Cholo can play how he wants, obviously. I've said I appreciate it and you saw it here."
But Guardiola still focused on the difficulties of playing a team who approach the game like Atletico.
"They did what they do very well," he said. "It's been like this here before, it was like this tonight and it will be like this for goodness knows how long.
"They're a team that knows how to play this way like no one else in the world."
Simeone was certainly content with the way Atletico handled their task, if not the end result, while he refused to question City's apparent time-wasting – an issue that bristled with club captain Koke, who said the LaLiga champions would be accused of "anti-football" for following suit.
"I think that football has a lot of different dimensions and I'm not going to comment on how Manchester City behaved," Simeone said.
"It is you [the media] who are very capable, you see everything very clinically and obviously you always express an opinion, because football is full of opinions, but we keep ours to ourselves.
"I think playing against possibly the best team in the world and showing that we were able to compete very well doesn't leave me feeling okay, it doesn't leave me feeling happy at all, because the only thing that leaves me happy is winning.
"I feel f***ed, but it gives me the peace of mind that when I go to bed I will say that today my father, Luis Aragones and those who passed away in the pandemic will have seen from above their team continues to compete extremely well."
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
RFEF elects Rocha as new president
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed Pedro Rocha as its new president.
Rocha has been elected as Luis Rubiales' replacement, despite being under investigation for corruption.
He had been serving as interim president since Rubiales resigned in September over the scandal caused when he kissed player Jenni Hermoso following Spain's Women's World Cup triumph in August.
In a statement released on Friday, the RFEF said: "Pedro Rocha has today been proclaimed the new president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after having received the support of the majority of the assembly members of this institution that governs Spanish football.
"The process followed the procedure agreed by the Electoral Commission, which met this morning, and the timetable that was established for these elections."
Rocha has been under investigation since earlier in April, after the RFEF's headquarters was raided by police last month. The Spanish government announced on Thursday that it would be stepping in to oversee the running of the organisation.
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