By the 89th minute, powerless in the face of a second-half blitz which had completely overpowered his team, Diego Simeone finally sat down. Briefly, it should be said. Trudging back five yards from the touchline to the dugout, eyes watering, the bombastic Atletico Madrid boss muttered all sorts of incomprehensible Spanish, drank a sip of water and quickly leapt back up, wiping his face in disbelief. He never leans back on his seat.
This is not how it began in the match against Arsenal on Tuesday night. Nor was it how it ended the previous time Simeone was on English shores; last month, after conceding a last-minute deciding goal at Anfield, Simeone confronted a group of goading Liverpool fans and had to be hauled back by security staff. Inevitably, he was sent off and received a one-game touchline ban in the Champions League.
