Atletico Madrid Star Slams Guardiola After Man City Boss Criticised His Team’s 5 5 0 Formation

• Atletico Madrid earned its fair share of criticism after an odd set up in the game against Manchester City
• The side adopted a 5-5-0 formation for large parts of the game, something Guardiola was quick to point out
• Guardiola also threw a subliminal jibe at Atletico with suggestions that that defensive approach was ‘prehistoric’
• But Atletico midfielder Koke hit out at Guardiola in a fierce defense of his club ahead of the second leg

Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke has taken to social media to hit out at critics over his side’s alleged 5-5-0 formation against Manchester City on Tuesday night.

The Colchoneros failed to register a single shot during the game as they put up a defensive masterclass but still lost 1-0 to the hosts.

Pep Guardiola was among those who were a bit critical of Atletico boss Diego Simeone’s set up, saying it was hard to break down a side that played with two walls of five players.

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“He [Simeone] has put [Antoine] Griezmann on the far right and Joao Felix on the far left, and they have gone 5-5-0. Two lines of five,” Guardiola said after the match.

“And in prehistory, today and in a hundred thousand years, attacking a 5-5 is very difficult. It is that there is no space. Apart from the fact that they are very competitive and defend very well, there is no space.”

These comments did not sit well with Koke, who took to social media with a bold response showing solidarity to his club.

The midfielder shared an image of the Atletico Madrid badge along with the caption:

“In love with your story since prehistory. Proud to be from Atleti”

Man City eventually break down stubborn Atletico

For large parts of the game, it almost looked like Diego Simeone had gotten the better of Guardiola in terms of tactics.

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But a quick tweak to the Manchester City squad in terms of substitutions proved to be the difference as Phil Foden made an impact from the bench within 80 seconds of coming on.

His sublime pass found Kevin de Bruyne, and the Belgian did well to beat Jan Oblak for the goal that proved to be the winner.

“They made 3 excellent changes”

After the match, Diego Simeone was the first to admit his side were outsmarted by Manchester City after the substitutions.

"A good performance against an extraordinary team that manages to unite lots of world-class footballers into a superb unit. We wanted to defend well, squeeze spaces and hit them on the counterattack,” Simeone said.

Atletico are still well in the tie ahead of the second leg, and Simeone suggested after the 1-0 defeat to Man City that his side would be more adventurous at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.