Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone spoke to the media following his team’s dramatic late win over Sevilla in La Liga, with Pablo Barrios securing a winner deep into injury time after Julián Alvarez had cancelled out Lucien Agoumé’s early strike for the home team.When asked what this could mean for a title race, Simeone was focused as he said, “I insist that we have to think about ourselves, to grow, to improve what we did last season and to improve this season with the number of players we brought in.
“There is room for growth. It is going to cost us, of course. And we’re going to get hurt at times, of course. But we will keep insisting,” he added.
Simeone on the team’s belief
“There is a bit of everything. When we came back from the international break we had matches against Espanyol, Barça and Sevilla. Against Espanyol we dropped points because of the penalty, against Barça we competed well and this time it started in the worst way when you come from a situation like that.
“The team was calm at 1-0 down, we worked through the game, we got better with time. At the end of the first half we had Conor’s chance. In the second half, Koke’s introduction gave us calm and combination play to free Julián and Riquelme, whose minutes were very good. Lemar gave us a hand with his play. We were linking situations: Giuliano, Conor, Riquelme, who had two chances, Julián’s… A very nice goal appeared and very well deserved by Pablo, we are always behind him so that he continues with this growth. He scored a great goal and it gives us great joy for not giving up.”
Simeone on the impact on the team’s morale
“It confirms that the work we are doing is good. The boys insist, look for it, work hard. The match was 1-1, and they were calm enough to go and look for it, and look for it, and look for it. Luckily it went in our favor in the final stretch.”
Simeone on what this means for the future
“This is good and healthy for the players. We got back Riquelme, who hadn’t played for a long time and he came on very well. Lemar gave us space where he plays the ball very well and had no more opportunities to do so. We have to keep looking to improve.”
Simeone on Riquelme’s return to the fold
“It is work from all points of view, mental, tactical, physical, the time each of those elements can give you. I am calm because I have a group that works and players who wait for their moment. Witsel hasn’t played for a long time and you don’t see how he trains and how he comes in the morning and again, again, again… That’s what makes us better. We need people who understand that this is the job.”
Simeone on Sevilla’s situation and the protests
“I can’t give my opinion on something I don’t participate in. The stadium is wonderful, I have great memories of my time here. The people gave me a very warm welcome.”
Simeone on the protests by Sevilla fans around the hour mark
“There was uncertainty and we were waiting for the people who had to make decisions to do so. The game continued and there is no more to add.”
