Michael Owen has slammed Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone for his tactics against Liverpool and insisted that the Spanish giants were thoroughly outplayed by the Reds at Anfield.

Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday night after Atletico Madrid beat them 3-2 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate in their last 16 tie.  

 



The Reds had their noses ahead in the tie when Roberto Firmino gave them a 2-0 lead, but three goals from Atletico Madrid ended their dream of back-to-back Champions League crowns.

Simeone and his team have received plaudits for their guts and gumption over the two legs and the kind of attritional football they played against Liverpool.
 


But Owen stressed that Atletico Madrid deserve very little praise as there is nothing brilliant about putting eleven men behind the ball and being dominated by Liverpool.



The former Red took to Twitter and wrote: “Please spare me all this inevitable Simeone masterclass nonsense.

“There’s nothing genius about putting 11 top-class footballers behind the ball.
 

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“Liverpool absolutely pumped them throughout.”

The Anfield giants will now look to wrap up the Premier League title in the next two games, starting with a win in the Merseyside derby on Monday night.