Gary Neville baffled by football fans who didn’t enjoy Real-Atletico’s tactical battle

If you want entertainment then go to the cinema

If you were a purist football fan then one goal scored in 180 minutes of football would probably leave you very unsatisfied. However if you are a football fan like us then it's hard not to have enjoyed the almost cat-and-mouse like battle we saw play out over the course of two games between Real and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. In the end a single goal separated the teams in tie that saw excellent defensive displays on both sides, as well as some rare moments of attacking play. We loved it but some football fans clearly didn't and Gary Neville can't understand why. https://twitter.com/K_Rossi9/status/590950423613288448 https://twitter.com/PacketSportGT/status/590962209787879424 https://twitter.com/NutmegRadio/status/590957901226860544 In his weekly column for The Telegraph the Sky pundit is struggling to get his head around criticism of Wednesday's game,

'For me, it was a fascinating match, a true example of football at the elite level, with one less-talented, but hugely disciplined and organised team (Atletico) attempting to overcome a team packed with individual flair and talent (Real) at the same time as attempting to nick the away goal which would have changed the whole complexion of the tie.' 'But when I looked at how the game was being judged on social media over here, I was so disappointed by the reaction, with people describing it as a drag, boring and many wishing for it to end.' 'It was a fantastic match, one which evoked memories of the Liverpool-Chelsea encounters in 2005 or the United-Barcelona semi-final in 2008, which we won 1-0 after being forced to defend for much of the two games.'

The former Manchester United full back also thinks that there are no sides currently playing in England who would be able to compete with their La Liga rivals. He feels the Premier League sides would not be able to compete with their European counterparts,

'But the negative reaction to Real-Atletico was a result of what the Premier League has become.' 'Everybody loves the drama and excitement of English football, but when you get to the elite level in the Champions League, I don’t believe that any Premier League club could have lived with Real or Atletico on Wednesday night.'