He Cholo Simeone spoke after the victory of the Atlético against Alavés (2-1), with goals from Saul and Diego Costa penalty, at the Movistar LaLiga microphones. The coach welcomed the changes.
Important victory: “The truth is that the team is working very hard and the players are responding. Today it was difficult defensively because they defended very well. In the first half we did not find the way and they made some counterattack, but in the second half, the changes improved the team”.
Nine changes Alavés: “I was not surprised by how the record of all the teams is going. We made five changes, seven against Levante and we, the coaches, want to see committed and running players.”
0-0 at half time, again: “We have to work on it, it is one of the factors that years ago we solved better. In Calderón we had results in the first half that allowed us to play the second half more comfortably.”
Llorente penalty: “I have not seen the images, what I know is that Llorente had tremendous speed. There is the VAR, the referees. Llorente, Costa and Carrasco both gave a lot of speed and strength.”
Later he attended the press
Has Alavés surprised you?
We knew of its characteristics. A strong team, defensively works very well as a block and did a defensive job in the first half very good and looking for counterattacks with exits to generate our loss of ball and find us with the sides up. There was no dangerous move, but there was a feeling of vertigo in its cons. We did not find the ways to find the rival goal and we went to the second half, where the speed of the game was different and Llorente's changes with Costa caused the team to feel dizzy with the speed the game demanded.
It costs them the first halves.
It is surely something to try to improve. The game lasts 90 minutes and you have to win in the 90s. If you remember at least four or five years in the Calderón the opposite happened to us, in the first half we were very strong and in the second we took refuge in the counterattack. Now, not having that forcefulness, it is closer to a draw and these are things that we have to improve. It's a new workgroup, eight players have left last summer and another eight have come, and it's a year of transition. The players have come back knowing what the club's objectives are, there are a lot of things to improve.
Llorente makes a difference.
For this match we understood that the individual category in small spaces of Correa, João Félix and Morata fresco allows us that possibility, understanding that the spaces were going to be smaller than we imagined. It was difficult in the first half for anyone who had played. In the second, with exhaustion, the three who entered gave us vertigo, speed, one on one and the spaces begin to appear and that is where it breaks and happened especially with Llorente.
Did you imagine this on the return from the competition?
I always imagine the best. Not what rivals can do, but what we can do. Except for the draw against Athletic, we always had to win, but in this you cannot relax. Complicated matches are coming, no matter the team that is formed, if not the commitment and the way of playing them. I am delighted with the team's response. We changed eight players from the game from Valladolid to Levante, from Levante here five and the team continues to respond. We need everyone and now we want to become strong knowing what our strengths are.
Are you at the best time of the season?
We feel good, responding in a good way. We have never won at Camp Nou and we hope to have a chance.
Lose Savic and Koke to the Camp Nou, is Felipe to play the game?
Felipe we will see these days as it is. Savic and Koke were not going to play in Barcelona anyway and this yellow is an extra. We must continue to count on the team we have, which is giving us a lot of strength match after match. I wanted to send a greeting to people, we really miss them, it is hard and I wanted to tell them that we miss them.