The Argentine hailed his players' efforts despite Atletico going out of the Champions League against their city rivals

Diego Simeone felt his Atletico side were in control of the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid until Arda Turan’s red card swung it in the hosts' favour.

Turan was dismissed for a second yellow card with 14 minutes to go at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the tie goalless and seemingly heading for extra time.

The sending-off rejuvenated Madrid who grabbed an 88th-minute winner through Javier Hernandez to squeeze Carlo Ancelotti's men into the semi-finals.

And while Simeone refused to criticise Turan for the red card, he admitted it was a game-changer.

“There’s no sense in talking about Arda’s red card, it will change nothing,” he said at the post-match press conference. “But until then we were controlling the game.”

Despite the defeat, Simeone was full of praise for his players.

“We competed well, I am proud,” he added. “We have a team of men who work, have pride and I am very grateful. Except the first 10 minutes when we did not play well, I don't think it was a bad game. The other team had the ball but we had the feeling we covered the gaps very well.

"If you lose giving everything then you must be happy. When the team works like today, I have nothing to say. There are many coaches that envy me for having this team. We congratulate our rivals and now we have to think about the game against Elche on Saturday."