Simeone: "We have to play an important match against Almería"

Diego Pablo Simeone spoke to the media in Majahonda. The Argentinian coach spared praised Almería, their next rival in the League. "We have to play an important match tomorrow, we’ll be facing a well worked rival that has improved since last season. A team who feels much stronger in the First Division and who has fast players on the wings. They have a striker such as Hemed who’s very strong in the air and will demand a lot of attention, especially on defence. Hopefully, we can resolve it, because it’ll be a difficult match throughout", he said.

Our coach kept calm after tying last round’s match against Celta. "I don't know what you think. It’s clear to me. Our championship is against Valencia and Sevilla and they have a two point advantage on us, but they have not played against Real Madrid or Barcelona. We won against Madrid and we feel very well", he explained.

Mandzukic will not be in Almería. The absence of the Croatian requires new dynamics in the attack. "We’ll need to have much more movement in the midfield. And above all, with the forwards, so as not to lose references in the box. Those who will be up front in the final meters", he indicated.

The coach talked about the work of Raúl Jiménez. "I see him well. He always trains to improve. He’s a kid who will surely give us very important things this season. The change of coming to play to Europe is not an easy one to make. We are confident in the player and I'm convinced he will make us happy", he added.

Simeone believes that it's "good" that demands are made of the team, as was also the case the year before. "Everything good we did last year was valued, respected, and lived from the joy that we gave the people with the good things we did", he concluded.