Diego Simeone has suggested that Atletico Madrid's 1-1 draw against Real Madrid provides further proof of his side's ability to compete with a 'superpower'.
Los Rojiblancos took a point off their city neighbours thanks to Antoine Griezmann's third successive goal in this fixture, cancelling out Cristiano Ronaldo's opener from four minutes beforehand.
Atletico had been second best up until Griezmann's goal but could easily have snatched victory, coming close to doing so through Koke's attempt, though Jan Oblak also had to pull off some smart saves at the other end.
Simeone hailed the ability of his players when speaking after the match, as Atleti left the Bernabeu unbeaten for a fifth season in a row.
"We are up against two superpowers, like Madrid and Barcelona," he said at his post-match press conference. "Teams like PSG and Juve have seen how difficult it is to face them [in the Champions League].
"What we have done in this decade is tremendous; Atletico fans should be proud of how their team is competing. In the first half they were better, but we then started to link up better in midfield and attack.
"When they scored we responded immediately, and we saw a game we could win with Koke and [Angel] Correa. We could have lost without Oblak."
Atletico remain four points better off than Real, who are now down in fourth place in the La Liga standings.
