Diego Simeone sought to explain Atletico Madrid's 3-0 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao in the fourth round of La Liga this season.
Marca newspaper published the Argentine's comments after the match. "The match was as we saw it. We produced a good first half," he said.
"Then two minutes of lost attention and focus passed, and an inability to settle situations that we should have dealt with better. Athletic Bilbao took advantage of that moment of lost focus. They deservedly won the match," he continued.
Simeone was clear about where the blame lay. "The match was going well for us before the start of the second half. But we did not handle the situation well during two minutes, and that is the responsibility of the coaching staff," he noted.
"We are in the phase of building the team. And we will go through complicated situations. We started well, but those two minutes today dealt us a blow, and we have to respond to it," he stressed.
Pressed on Julian Alvarez, the Argentine bristled. "Alvarez did not go out to warm up after the match? Really? I have no comment," he said.
"Apart from Julian's chance, we did not have clear chances. Athletic Bilbao will compete for the top places this season," he explained.
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