Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher has stated that the team is focusing on beating Barcelona to move past the disappointment of their dramatic Champions League exit.
Recovering from the frustration of being knocked out of the Champions League isn’t easy, but Atletico Madrid is looking ahead and shaking off that blow. Gallagher mentioned that they want to use their dramatic loss to Real Madrid as motivation for the upcoming match against Barcelona.
Atletico, having lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, won the return leg at home by the same score last Wednesday. Gallagher scored the crucial goal that gave the team some relief.
However, the tie was ultimately decided in a penalty shootout, where Atletico lost 4-2, ending their Champions League dreams. A controversial moment occurred when Atletico’s Julian Alvarez had his goal ruled out for “touching the ball twice” in the penalty shootout, but Gallagher chose not to dwell on the incident. He believes that what happened, happened.
Even though Atletico was knocked out of the Champions League, they are still in a strong position in the La Liga title race. On Sunday, Diego Simeone’s team will face Barcelona, who are at the top of the table.
Speaking to ESPN, Gallagher said that the team is focused on the important upcoming match, leaving past disappointments behind.
“This (Champions League) was a proud performance, and the feeling after the loss will be used as inspiration for the next match. Maybe luck wasn’t on our side in that game, which is unfortunate, but we’ve come back from similar situations many times this season.”
Atletico is just one point behind Barcelona in the league standings. With the opportunity to overtake them, Gallagher feels the team is ready despite the tough loss to Real.
“Bouncing back from such a loss and ensuring we’re 100% prepared for the big match is definitely mentally challenging. However, we can use it as fuel to give our best performance against Barcelona because we need to beat them.”
With 57 points from 26 matches, Barcelona leads the table. Real Madrid is second with 56 points from 27 matches, and Atletico is third with 56 points, also from 27 matches.
