KIERAN TRIPPIER has hit back at critics of Atletico Madrid's defensive game plan against Liverpool.

The England and Atletico star claims his side would have been thrashed 6-0 in their recent Champions League meeting if they played with an attacking style.

The La Liga outfit came from behind to win 3-2 at Anfield and secure a 4-2 aggregate victory in the last-16 tie of the Champions League.

Bitter Jurgen Klopp took a pop at the Spanish side claiming they "do not play proper football" after the Reds' European title defence came to an end following the dramatic defeat in extra time.

Diego Simeone’s side won with just 29 per cent possession on the night but Trippier has stood by his side's game plan.

The 29-year-old ace told the Daily Mirror: "If you go there and go toe-to-toe with Liverpool, you're going to get beat 6-0. I don't know what people expect.

"You see pundits complaining because we did defend, but did they expect us to go there and play attacking football, especially with Liverpool playing the way that they're playing at the moment?

"You need to go there with a plan and we did that, we defended but the most important thing is that we got the win.
"We knew they would blow up because of the amount of pressure they'd applied and the amount of energy they'd put into the game."

"We knew they'd slow down, It took us over 100 minutes, but we won 3-2.

"People can complain as much as they want, but we thought it was necessary for that type of game.

"As I've got older it has stopped bothering me. Liverpool didn't put their chances away and we beat them in both legs, It worked and that's what football is about."

The coronavirus crisis has overshadowed Atletico's progression to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Spain has the fourth highest cases of the virus in the world with over 25,000 known cases and 1,381 deaths.

LaLiga has been suspended indefinitely with the Spanish government warning people "the worst of the virus is yet to come."

UEFA has put the Champions League and Europa League on hold as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the continent.

The European Championship has been pushed back to summer 2021 to give clubs more time to complete the 2019/20 season.

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