Jonathan David double helps Lille stun hosts Atletico Madrid with 3 ...

MADRID – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has slammed the penalty call that led to his team losing 3-1 at home to Lille in the Champions League on Oct 23.

The controversial decision came in the 74th minute – the score was 1-1 – when Italian referee Marco Guida gave the spot kick after seeing a handball by midfielder Koke.

Replays did not seem to show Koke touching the ball with his hands or arms and Guida did not go to the video assistant referee (VAR) monitors to review the play. Jonathan David converted the penalty to make it 2-1 for Lille.

“It wasn’t a penalty,” Simeone insisted.

“We’ve been watching the replays. The referee must have made a mistake about what he saw, and those on the VAR weren’t able to help him.”

David scored twice as the French side stunned Atletico to make it two wins from their last two matches, while piling more pressure on the struggling Spanish team.

The win moved Lille to six points, while Atletico are on three with just one win from their three games so far.

“We had a complicated start because we conceded a goal that was avoidable,” said Lille coach Bruno Genesio.

“But I was confident we would not concede a second goal and that we would have opportunities to draw level. All my players were very decisive. We have taken a step towards qualification, because between nine and 10 points, we can dream of progressing to the round of 16.”

His team found themselves on the back foot at the start, as Atletico went in search of an early goal.

They got it in the eighth minute, with Julian Alvarez intercepting a weak back pass from Lille defender Ousmane Toure and slotting in to give them the lead.

Atletico had only themselves to blame for not going into the break with a far bigger advantage or even killing off the game, with Norwegian Alexander Sorloth wasting three golden scoring opportunities in the first half.

Lille’s best chance in the first period came only in stoppage time, with Edon Zhegrova firing over the bar but the Kosovo international would later prove crucial.

He whipped in a superb left-footed shot into the top far corner in the 61st minute to draw the visitors level.

Lille then scored again to seal their comeback courtesy of that contentious 74th-minute penalty by David.

To rub salt into the wounds of Atletico, the Canada international claimed his second goal of the evening as his deflected effort found the net in the 89th minute. REUTERS