Diego Simeone clashed with Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl on the touchline during Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 victory in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
First-half goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino put Atletico in front but Sebastien Haller’s strike in the 81st minute has handed Dortmund a lifeline ahead of the quarter final second leg in Germany next Tuesday.
In a highly charged atmosphere at the Wanda Metropolitano, tempers boiled over in the second half when Atletico counter-attacked while Dortmund midfielder Emre Can was on the ground with an injury.
Simeone and Kehl went head to head while the Atletico head coach pushed the Dortmund sporting director twice before being separated.
When asked about the confrontation, Kehl said: ‘We shouldn’t talk about the scene, but about what happened on the pitch. We played a very good game in the second half.
‘Emotions come together in this situation. Tonight was about standing your ground, that was the case in the situation.
‘It wasn’t anything more than that. It was about an incident on the pitch. He knows that, I know that and then it was done. Let’s leave it at that.’
Meanwhile, Dortmund head coach, Eden Terzic, also played down the spat between Simeone and Kehl.
‘That’s part of it,’ Terzic said.
‘You not only need eleven players on the pitch, but also all the boys on the bench.
‘The fact that things can get hot in the coaching zone is nothing new and doesn’t surprise us.’
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