Atletico Madrid defender Jose Maria Gimenez believes his side deserved to beat Manchester United.
Los Rojiblancos were left frustrated at the Wanda Metropolitano, drawing 1-1 in the Champions League round of 16 first leg.
Joao Felix put Atleti ahead early on with a fine header, and he almost made it two before the break.
But Diego Simeone’s men couldn’t put the game to bed and paid the price, with Anthony Elanga equalising with 10 minutes remaining.
Atleti were caught open at the back on a rare occasion and they now head to Old Trafford level rather than with a lead.
That’s tough to take for Atletico after an otherwise promising performance, and centre-back Gimenez has outlined as much, claiming he and his teammates did more than enough to win.
“The truth is that it’s a bit bothering,” he told Movistar during their live coverage. “We didn’t deserve to draw, we did a lot to win, drove all facets of the game, defended well, built well in attack, created chances, hit the post twice.
“If you are not effective…They are very good, when they caught us open, in a loss of possession. (It was a) Casual goal because we totally deserved the win.”
United did improve in the second half, with Ralph Rangnick’s substitutions paying off.
But Atletico largely dominated and will feel hard done by to go to Old Trafford needing to win, be it in normal time or otherwise.
