Delighted Simeone praises team, fans after Champions League success

Atletico Madrid coach, Diego Simeone has praised his side's spirit after seeing them qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out against Bayer Leverkusen.

Mario Suerez's goal in the 27th minute of the game gave Atletico a 1-0 win on the night, but after 120 minutes in the Vicente Calderon, the tie was 1-1 on aggregate.H Fernando Torres scored the decisive penalty, but as always Simeone preferred to highlight the collective effort.

"I'm delighted by the effort by the team... They made a huge effort in a typical cup game against a team who played with an incredible intensity. After scoring, we tried to look for another goal which would keep us alive in the competition, but always conscious that conceding would make life complicated for us," said the Atletico coach, who highlighted his side was missing players such as Tiago Cardoso, Saul, Diiego Godin, and also lost goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya through injury after just 20 minutes.

"His injury meant we had to use of a substitution quite early on. I hope he's back with us soon," said Simeone, who then saw how substitute keeper, Jan Oblak, became one of the heroes of the night in the penalty shoot-out.

"Football is great and that shows you should never stop working because one day you'll be faced with a hugely important game," said Simeone.

Finally the Atletico coach praised the supporters who packed the stands of the Vicente Calderon.

"They were great. We're in the last eight and it gives me goose bumps just saying that. The fans have no idea of the strength they give to the team," commented the coach, who had no preferences over who his side could meet in the last eight.

"They're all great teams and you can't choose who you'll face, so we'll wait and see," he concluded.

The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on Friday. Endi