Atletico Madrid were humbled 3-0 by Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, but Diego Simeone remained optimistic that a comeback was possible in the return leg next Wednesday.

That match will be Los Rojblancos' final European game at the Estadio Vicente Calderon and the Argentine issued a rallying cry to the fans, urging that they could still reach the final in Cardiff.

"I don't think it's impossible," he said in a post-match interview with Mega.

"We have the return leg and I say to my players and to the fans that yes, we can."

Analysing the match, he was insistent that his team had played well in the first half, while admitting that their rivals overran them towards the end.

"The first half was even and we could have gone in front at the one-versus-one between [Kevin] Gameiro and Keylor [Navas]," he pointed out.

"I liked the way the team played in the first half, but later they knew how to attack the spaces well."

He was also asked about Cristiano Ronaldo's first goal and whether or not the forward interfered with play enough to be offside, to which he said that all that matters is what appears on the scoreboard.

"I saw it as a goal," he said, dodging the question.

"When it enters in the goalframe and the referee points to the middle it is a goal."

Finally, makeshift right-back Lucas Hernandez's performance was also brought up and the coach defended his player by saying that he was playing out of position.