Diego Simeone conceded that Atletico Madrid were still behind some of Europe's elite teams after being beaten 2-0 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Simeone: Atletico still a level below Europe's elite
Atletico Madrid were defeated 2-0 by Bayern Munich on Tuesday, and Diego Simeone said his team must get closer to Europe's top teams.
Simeone watched on as his side slipped to a second defeat in this year's competition, with second-half strikes from Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer sealing the victory.
But Atletico had their chances in the first half, with Julian Alvarez firing just wide before Pablo Barrios saw his goal-bound effort deflect over Manuel Neuer's crossbar.
However, Bayern took the lead in the 54th minute through Karl, who capitalised on Robin Le Normand's hesitancy in his own penalty area before finishing past Jan Oblak.
The Bundesliga giants sealed the win when Harry Kane's pass over the top picked out Laimer, who was allowed time and space to bring down the ball before firing into the roof of the net, with none of Atletico's defenders closing down the Bayern full-back.
Atletico have now won just one of their last seven Champions League games (D2 L4) after winning three of the four before that (L1), leaving them 22nd in the 36-team standings.
Simeone's side have also kept just two clean sheets in their last 17 home European games after chalking up 17 shutouts in the 28 before that, and the Atletico boss acknowledged that teams such as Bayern were on another level at this moment in time.
"We know that when we play against important opponents it can happen," Simeone told reporters.
"Liverpool and Bayern are better than us, we have to get closer to them. We have to reach 120 because 100 is not going to reach us."
When asked about what he would learn from the defeat, Simeone added: "We managed it well. Sorloth's presence helped us.
"We could bet on a more direct game by winning the second ball. He gave us a lot. The match was on that side.
"We played it the way we wanted, but the first goal came, and we didn't know how to react. With the second goal, the game ended."
Atletico had come into the clash with confidence following their 2-0 win over Levante in LaLiga.
Saturday's triumph saw Atletico record their seventh consecutive league win, the longest active streak across Europe's top five leagues.
Neither Atletico nor Bayern managed a shot on target in the first half, the first time both sides in a Champions League game have drawn a first-half blank since January 2025 (Club Brugge v Juventus), but it was the visitors who had the better chances.
Bayern finished the first half with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.08 from their nine shots, while Atletico registered a tally of 0.37 from their four attempts before the break.
Atletico were only able to bump their xG up to 1.02 in the second half compared to Bayern's 1.91, and Alexander Sorloth said his team could not keep up with their opponents.
"Bayern are one of the best teams in the world. In the first half, we defended well, we had some opportunities, and we only missed the final pass," Sorloth added.
"So the first half was decent, but in the second half we got tired. We did not have the legs and Bayern scored.
"Of course, we wanted to have more points than this, but we have four games left. Every time we go out onto the pitch we want to win. We hope to win our final games."
Sorloth's comments were echoed by Marcos Llorente, who said: "We knew what kind of game we were in for.
"They're a very strong team; we were holding our own, but it's the little things that decide the game, and we didn't expect that first goal.
"It came down to the little things – not staying calm enough on that final pass, not rushing, and being more aggressive in attack by getting players into the box."
