It is customary, although this is not part of formal protocol, for coaches to greet each other at the end of matches. After Manchester City’s victory against Atlético de Madrid, by 1-0 at Ittihad, Diego Simeone avoided exchanging hands with Pep Guardiola. Cholo went straight to the locker room and the Catalan, who had turned away for the meeting with the Argentine, when he saw that his teammate was leaving, he went back to his steps to talk to the players..

The BBC in London featured the episode on its Twitter account. “Diego Simeone runs the tunnel without shaking hands with Pep Guardiola”.

Before the game they greeted each other. Pep said at a previous press conference that Simeone was more offensive than believed. But Aleti didn’t even kick the goal in the first half.

In addition, there are anecdotes between the two. Cholo, before joining Aleti, witnessed a training session in Barcelona and told his colleague that he did not like it. And Pep replied: “Great! That’s what it’s about.”

hot excitement

In the second half, Cholo sought to give oxygen to his team’s midfield and attack with a few changes, including the entry of Ángel Correa. And the Argentine has one play that should be highlighted: a spicy clash with Jack Grealish.

The former San Lorenzo kicked the ball in the Englishman’s face when the game was interrupted. The game was close to the local bench and Guardiola quickly jumped to defend his coach, blaming Angelito for his fancy gesture.

Behind them all, Simeone also appeared who tried to calm down and speed up the game because the result was not in his favor. But in addition to asking to continue the game, he met a City footballer and apparently said something to Guardiola as well.

A tense ending, full of nervousness and with a long face, has nothing to do with everything expressed in the previous one: a climate consistent with what is against, with gritted teeth.

On Wednesday, April 13, they will meet for revenge for the quarterfinals of the Champions League, at Wanda Metropolitano.