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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann admits Diego Simeone spat during Champions League clash

RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann admits that he had "a little spat" with Atletico Madrid counterpart Diego Simeone during his side's historic Champions League victory on Thursday.

Having only been formed in 2009, Leipzig now find themselves in the last four of European football's premier competition thanks to their late 2-1 win in Lisbon.

After Dani Olmo's header had given them the lead in the Portuguese capital, Atletico youngster Joao Felix both won and scored a penalty to drag his side level.

However, it was American youngster Tyler Adams who won it for Leipzig when his effort was deflected in late on.

Leipzig will now face Paris Saint-Germain in the last four, and Nagelsmann says that although Simeone congratulated his side after the game, relations between the pair were initially cold.

Tyler Adams struck late on to spark wild celebrations (REUTERS)

"Simeone congratulated me afterwards, it was very sincere. He said, it was a great game and a deserved win for us," he told a news conference.

"At half-time we had a little spat, but that wasn't very serious. He's just an incredible winner who even wants to win on the way to the dressing room.

"But that's not bad, I actually want to point out that I think he's personality as a coach is awesome. So, everything's fine."

Nagelsmann and Simeone came head-to-head in the tunnel (UEFA)

Nagelsmann added that his team had changed approach in the absence of their star forward Timo Werner, who joined Chelsea this summer, saying that Atletico would not have been the best opposition for the German to face anyway due to their style of play.

"The opponents are not perhaps the best for Timo Werner because there's not a lot of space behind the defensive line," he told BT Sport.

"Today we decided to play with three offensive midfielders to create the spaces between the lines, and all the three midfielders did very well."

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