Simeone: "It’s an important match because of where the League is at"
Diego Pablo Simeone stressed the importance of the match against Sevilla and that his team has to be competitive in the central area of the playing field.
Atlético’s coach said that "we are going to play against a team that is doing very well, which has been working for two years with a continuity and a balance that makes it very competitive. It’s an important match because of where the League is at."
Simeone made it very clear that "I don’t compare this team with last year’s because there are a lot of new players and, as I’ve always said, I think we will be able to assess how this group did at the end because it’s different from last year’s group. You can’t compare continuously. I respect it and I say that we’re doing a very good season. We were competitive in the King’s Cup, we won the Spanish Super Cup, we’re still alive in the Champions League and in the League we are competing three points away from Barcelona and a bit further away from Madrid. But with a lot of expectations ahead of us in this League. I assess that this group has had a good season so far and the end will determine if it’s very good or just good."
Regarding Sevilla, this round’s rival, Atlético’s coach commented that, "it’s a team that tries to play more on your half of the field. It possibly feels strong winning recovered balls. They have players like Banega, Vitolo, Bacca, Reyes, a lot of players who play well between the lines. And Banega’s playing ability makes him play you into a corner. We have to be a competitive team in that area of the field to try to take advantage of the ground that we have ahead."
