Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Leverkusen manager Roger Schmidt explains Diego Simeone clash

Bayer Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt accused Atletico Madrid of trying to get his players booked in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

Schmidt, who clashed with Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone on the sidelines after a foul by match-winner Hakan Calhanoglu, also hit out at Simeone's assistant German Burgos.

"The assistant coach is madness," he told ZDF TV after the match. "That's their scam, that they always send him ahead to cause a stir. But I won't put up with it."

He explained that he had been infuriated by Atletico players' calls for the referee to book opponents.

Calhanoglu's second-half strike has given his team a chance of progressing to their first Champions League quarterfinal since 2002, when they reached the final only to lose to Real Madrid.

"It's been a perfect evening, not only for me but also for the team," he told Leverkusen's TV channel.

"I saw that Karim [Bellarabi] was going at full speed, and I waited a bit to see what happens next. He saw me, passed and I did a good job after that.

"We could have scored a second goal, but overall can be more than satisfied with the 1-0. We know that it won't be easy for us in Madrid, but if we play like that we have a good chance."

Keeper Bernd Leno said the win had achieved by "putting pressure on them deep in their own half" and added: "They did not expect that, and we also did a great job in defence against such a physical team."

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