MADRID, 11 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, has assured that Memphis Depay has lived his “best week” since he joined the team, and he is confident that he can prove it this Sunday if he plays in Balaídos against RC Celta (16.15 hours), a rival with “alternatives” to do damage.
“The best week since we’ve been with him was this, beautiful, he worked very well. Hopefully, if he has to start or start tomorrow, he can solve it like he did this week. He’s fast and strong, we’re excited about his back game, and he can give us alternatives to Álvaro -Morata-, who has different characteristics. They can play together. We need him the way he trained this week”, he declared at a press conference.
Despite being alive in only one competition, after the cup elimination, the Argentine coach believes that they will have no problem managing the minutes of the squad. “We handle it as always when we have been left out of the ‘Champions’ and there were two or three months ahead of us competing for a single championship: looking for what best suits the team so that it responds in the next game,” he said.
He also valued the evolution of Koke after his post-World Cup ‘slump’. “Since he was a boy, Koke did very well for the team in different positions, he has played everything, especially from midfield forward. He is a player who is very clear about everything we want. In the midfield he does quite well, we have a much more dynamic playing position in terms of ball circulation when he is fresh and with rhythm. We need to demand it to be able to continue at that level, because the team needs it”, he stated.
In another order of things, the ‘Cholo’ explained why he is betting lately on Stefan Savic and Mario Hermoso as a pair of central defenders. “The field speaks for itself. Stefan has a defensive security that he has shown, Mario has a good ball output and has grown in the defensive part, which was what we demanded of him. Giménez and Axel give us alternatives, competition, so that None of the two who are playing now relax. We are going to need them all from here to the end”, he stressed.
Lastly, Simeone analyzed his rival on Sunday, Celta. “Since the coach’s arrival, little by little, he has found the best path for his footballers, who are always important, especially from midfield forward. From the defensive, they have seen a 4-4-2, a 5- 4-1, it has changed a lot depending on the rival, and that gives alternatives to a team that is responding in a good way. They are complicated from the positional game, from the ability that Aspas has to generate play. It will be a difficult and complex game “, finished.