Simeone: “Atlético’s spirit has improved”

“We are more combative, more intense and we have more speed”, pointed out ‘El Cholo’, who foresees a “tough” match this Friday against Cádiz

MADRID, 10 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, congratulated himself because the “spirit” of the team “has improved” in recent days, the day before the match against Cádiz, corresponding to the twenty-eighth day of LaLiga Santander and that dispute this Friday (9:00 p.m.) at the Wanda Metropolitano.

“The key is to have worked together in these last few moments. We don’t have to lose that focus, feel strong and bring that feeling down onto the field. The team spirit has improved. Now we are more combative, more intense and we have more speed and that We have to keep improving,” he commented at a press conference.

Apart from the plague of casualties that plagues the mattress dressing room, Simeone pointed out that the coaching staff is there to “resolve situations” of the team and that the “only thing that matters” is to arrive in the best way to this Friday’s game. “We have to create a game in which I think we can hurt Cádiz,” he said.

Regarding the good form of the Portuguese Joao Félix, Simeone recalled that before his second injury “he was very well”. “Above all, in the match against Porto, in which he gave us a lot of solutions. He is coming back little by little. He is feeling better and, as he goes along, he will find his game, that we need him in a space at Cunha, Correa and Joao are working very well,” he said.

The Argentine coach invited to “keep running” to continue in the fight for a place in the 2022-23 Champions League. “There are many teams in this ‘League of Fourteen’ ready to compete for the remaining ‘Champions’ spots and it will be tough until the end,” he said.

In this sense, he predicted a “complex match” against Cádiz, which is trying to get out of the relegation places and “has a need”, although he warned that Atlético also has it to maintain the place in the Champions League that it recovered last week. “Cádiz has worked 5-3-2 and can make a 4-4-2. We know the coach and it will surely be a tough and complex game like everyone else in the Spanish League”, he stressed.

On the other hand, he admitted that he watched the match and described as “admirable” Real Madrid’s comeback (3-1) this Wednesday against Paris Saint Germain in the second leg of the ‘Champions’ round of 16 at the Bernabéu, scoring “what is in Europe”.