Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso speaks out on Fermin Lopez challenge

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso has defended himself after a brutal collision with Fermin Lopez that left the young midfielder bloodied and the Barcelona bench screaming for a penalty.

During Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, Fermin was bloodied after a collision with Atletico goalkeeper Musso.

As Diego Simeone’s men fought to advance 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 loss on the night, Musso stretched to make a save and his boot caught the 22-year-old midfielder in the face. Fermin required extensive medical attention on the pitch to stem the flow of blood from his nose.

Musso has now spoken about the incident, noting that there was no malice in the challenge and that his primary concern was the youngster’s welfare.

Fermin Lopez looks down as blood pours after his collision with Musso. (Photo by Diego Souto/Getty Images)

“If they are asking for a penalty for the incident with Fermin, it is a movement that hurts me for him, because he got hurt and I never want that,” the Argentine said to RTVE. “I went immediately to see how he was. It’s a movement that happens, in his header and in me stretching my leg to block it. How can anyone think that’s a penalty?”

He also rubbished claims from Raphinha that Barcelona were “robbed” during their Champions League quarter-final exit.

Musso checking on Fermin Lopez after the incident (Photo by Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Musso was quick to shut down the Brazilian’s complaints, standing firm against the accusations and insisting that Atletico won fairly on the pitch across the two legs.

“It is a madness to want to pass this off as a robbery,” Musso added, before referring to the red card Pau Cubarsi was given in the first leg. “I understand what Raphinha says, I understand what anyone can say, I respect everyone’s opinion, but let’s not talk about robberies because it doesn’t help. We won on the pitch, we beat them 2-0 away. Last man, in football, is a red, unfortunately.”

Despite the war of words, the goalkeeper believes the better team progressed to the semi-finals after a grueling 180 minutes of football

“Barca is a team we respect a lot and it really motivates us to play against them, they are a great team, but to talk about a robbery is a madness,” the Argentina international continued.

Atletico Madrid will now be waiting for their semifinal opponent, with Arsenal the favourite after their 1-0 firstleg win over Sporting Lisbon.