We can come back against Barca - Simeone

 

 Lionel Messi netted the rebound from a late penalty to give his side the lead in the Copa del Rey quarter final, but the Atletico Madrid coach believes they still have a chance

Diego Simeone believes Atletico Madrid can recover from Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Barcelona when the two sides meet in the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie.

Lionel Messi scored the rebound from his own missed penalty late in the game to give his side the slender lead in Camp Nou and the advantage heading into the second leg of the quarter final tie.

And while Simeone believes his side should have created more in the game, he believes they can come back from the defeat and progress beyond the Catalan giants.

"It was not like in the previous game against them," he told reporters. "We defended better in this match but had fewer chances to attack. The match was controlled by Barca's possession.

"I like winning 4-0 but there's a team on the other side. Barca have improved a lot in recent games, especially in terms of pressing in the opposition half.

"I see even chances against a team playing well. The tie is still open."

The deadlock was broken through the Argentine after Sergio Busquets went down under a soft challenge, Simeone, though, was not willing to criticise the match officials.

"The truth is that we try not to think about referees.

"I think in terms of chances on goal there weren't many throughout the game. The second match won't be easy either."