Simeone: “It was an open and dangerous match”
Diego Pablo Simeone appeared before the media after the 2-0 victory against Elche. Our coach recognised that Elche complicated the match, "working tactically well" but pointed out that perseverance delivered a “fair” victory.
Simeone explained how he saw the team throughout the match. “We knew it was going to be an open and dangerous match because we faced a team that works tactically well. We couldn’t find gaps in the first half and by contrast, the took advantage of chances on the counter-attack, to create some danger. The attitude changed in the second half. The intensity increased and, from persistence, came the prize. Our perseverance delivered a fair victory”, he said.
Effort and work lead us to focus on playing the 4 finals left in the League
The team did not find their game in the first half because it was “cut-off” between the attack and the defence. “Matches are very long and it’s very complicated to keep up the same game rhythm. In the first half, we weren’t able to have the structure that we normally have regarding formation. The entrance of Adrián had our team be cut-off and that in their second balls they had more players in the midfield. In the second half, we returned to the 4-4-2 and kept together, and the closer we are, the more dangerous we become”, he pointed out.
Substitutions were decisive in the victory. “I didn’t like the team being so cut-off in the first half and needed time for the players to read the game on the pitch. The changes were good. Diego gave us depth, Raul’s entry was decisive. José, once again with his foot, broke-up a stuck match, in a great corner kick that Miranda could transform”, he concluded.
