Diego Pablo Simeone addressed the press after the draw at the Camp Nou against Barcelona. The rojiblanco coach appreciated the work of his team, mainly in the first half, fulfilling everything planned except the goal and the way in which he tried to win the game. He will not see Real Madrid-Sevilla and he only thinks game by game.
They have been ambitious, will the point be enough for LaLiga?
We are in a fantastic championship with four teams looking for the best ending. We came to Barcelona to play a game with determination, security, collective work and the game that we imagined happened. The team worked well, they did not rush to attack quickly, they held the game, they had a counterattack, recovering balls in a very great first half and the second was more even. They had occasions like Dembélé's head and we had Carrasco's, which if he got to kick before it would have been a great scoring opportunity. I am left with a great team work, to continue in the line that we are in game by game, not to get away or crazy from this situation that we always live. Peace of mind, tomorrow to rest and on Monday to start preparing for the Real Sociedad game. Match by match.
Was the tie fair? Who benefits?
I don't start to value so many things. We played a good game, Barcelona looked for their ways to hurt us, it is a great team with fantastic footballers with young players and a great job from Koeman for that replacement that always costs and he won the Copa del Rey, he can win the League, the Madrid will compete as a lifetime and Sevilla will seek to join tomorrow with a victory at LaLiga. Match by match, there is not much else.
Are they leaving reinforced?
We have a path and since I arrived in 2011 it is to play match by match all as if it were a final. Some of us play better and others worse, with more intensity, more inserted, but that is the search. The single most important success we can achieve is to be competitive like that first day I arrived at the club where I was excited about Atlético de Madrid competing until the end.
Will he wear his shirt from when he played for Sevilla tomorrow?
I'm not watching the games, I don't have a good time. Not much will change if I see it, so calm with the family having dinner and beyond tomorrow's result we have a great game to play against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.
Are you still excited about the team for the next League?
It is a question too far in the future and knowing me you already know that I am going to say that I think about game by game and start after the preseason.
They have given a great mental picture.
The only thing I asked the footballers is to play, to be themselves and to be able to play. And they did, that fills me with joy and success is competing every year where we are.
Was it the time you came closest to winning at the Camp Nou?
For the numbers that are always shown, I think that in the last four games we are not doing badly, we won in the League, we drew two in a row at the Camp Nou and we won in the super cup in Arabia. It's been many years without winning here, that's true, and everything always happens sometime, every time we come to this stadium we will hope to win.