Regret following the altercation with Liverpool supporters

Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid, says "insults" were the cause of the altercation with Liverpool fans at the conclusion of their thrilling Champions League opening at Anfield.

Simeone reacted after Reds captain Virgil van Dijk scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute of their 3-2 victory, seemingly provoked by a few home fans.

With several stewards placed between him and the Liverpool fans, the Argentine complained to the fourth official.

Before being sent off and walking down the tunnel, Simeone had to be pulled from the scene and continued to resist.

"First of all, I regret the part I played," the 55-year-old remarked during the post-match press conference. It's obvious that we are in a situation where we have no right to respond, and doing so is bad.

Simeone, however, took offense at what he described as "insults for the whole game" from the home crowd.

"As we [managers] are in a position where we are protagonists/standard bearers, we could fight on behalf of the managers against the insults we receive throughout the entire game in the same way that we fight against racism and insults in stadiums today," he continued.

"Being in our situation and getting taunts throughout the game is not easy. After the third goal, I caught a glimpse of it from a distance. I'm a human, so when I turned after seeing the third goal go in, the taunts persisted.

He said, "The truth is I cannot remember exactly what the insults were," in response to a question about their nature. I don't wish to get involved in the matter.

"My problem is that I have to hold onto my job. Knowing that I cannot change society, I must learn to endure all that occurs in front of the dugout. Because it occurs frequently, this is something that I and the management in question must deal with.

"You understand what it's like to be insulted for ninety minutes, but my response isn't justified. I'm hoping Liverpool can make improvements in that area and that there will be repercussions once the offender is found.

The event occurred at the conclusion of a tense game in which Liverpool scored twice through Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah in the first half before the Spanish team rallied.

Marcos Llorente gave Atletico two goals to square the score, but the current leaders and defending Premier League champions came back to win the third goal with a strong header from Van Dijk.