The Portuguese side and Chelsea were already through to the knockout stages of Europe's top club competition and APOEL Nicosia needed a win in London to claim third place in the group and the lucrative Europa spot. They fought hard but had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Atletico were hoping for a return to form in Europe after two straight La Liga wins but fell behind in only the second minute at the Calderon.
When Hulk smashed in a third off the crossbar in the 76th minute some disgruntled fans began heading for the exits and the handful remaining at the whistle roundly booed the home side.
COMFORT ZONE
"It's very hard to pull back two goals conceded in 15 minutes against a very physical team that is playing in its comfort zone," he told a news conference.
"The fans are very demanding and that's the way it should be. They were expecting a better performance."
Competition rules enabled Atletico, who conceded five more goals than the Cypriot side and scored only three to APOEL's four, to go through to the Europa League thanks to Simao's goal in last month's 1-1 draw in Nicosia.
