Simeone: Atletico was 'living in fear all night' of threat posed by Leicester

Atletico Madrid's path to the Champions League semi-final was far from smooth against a Leicester City outfit that left manager Diego Simeone with an uneasy feeling until the final whistle echoed throughout the King Power Stadium.

The Atletico Madrid manager was full of praise for the hosts when asked about the threat Leicester City posed to his side's chances of reaching the semi-final stage of the competition for the third time in four seasons.

Related: Atletico Madrid ends Leicester's run to reach Champions League semi-final

“We were living in fear all night over what they might achieve,” Simeone told reporters, according to Henry Winter of The Times, after Atletico's 2-1 aggregate triumph.

He added: "It was almost a pleasure to compete against Leicester. They never let their heads drop."

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Atletico looked to be in the driver's seat in the first half after Saul Niguez doubled its aggregate advantage with a perfectly guided header just 26 minutes into the contest. But a change in strategy from Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare revived hopes among the home support, who were rewarded with an equaliser just after the hour mark when Jamie Vardy thumped his effort into the back of the net.

Related - Watch: Saul's header puts Leicester on brink of elimination

Despite continued threats in the Atletico end throughout the second half, the Spanish side held on to its slender advantage to secure a place in the penultimate stage of the Champions League.

"I'm full of emotion and pride at the performance of my team, I'm full of excitement and hope as we progress further in the Champions League," he said.

After the match, Simeone also made a point of going around the pitch and congratulating each Leicester player before heading toward the tunnel.

Shakespeare, who was proud of Leiceser's ability to compete with one of the tournament's standout teams, revealed that he and his coaching staff had discussed switching to a more aggressive scheme before the match in an effort to catch Atletico off balance.

"We gave an excellent team a really good shot," Shakespeare told reporters, according to PA Sport. "The players should be proud, but they're ultimately disappointed to go out."

"We had planned it in advance. I didn't expect to do it that early. I thought we played alright first half, but we needed to be more of a threat. We've spoken about being direct, playing Jamie and Riyad (Mahrez) off Leo. The players' attitude to make that work was first class. We got the goal, but couldn't quite get the breaks to get any more."