MADRID, 14 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, stated this Thursday that goalkeeper Jan Oblak “deserved to participate directly in the victory”, alluding to his two saves against Inter Milan in the penalty shootout (3-2) that qualified to the colchoneros for the quarterfinals of the Champions League, after 2-1 in regulation time.
“This makes me very happy for Jan. He is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, he is extraordinary. When he is well, it is very difficult for them to score against us. He deserved what happened to him, to participate directly in the victory, like that day of the Bayer Leverkusen,” Simeone recalled another tough round of 16 tie in 2015 in the press room.
To beat Inter in this edition of the Champions League, the fans were key in the previous hours. “I have great respect and admiration for our people. Today when we came to the stadium, it was exciting to see the arrival of the team and see the reception of our people at the start,” highlighted the ‘Cholo’ about the aura of the Cívitas Metropolitano.
“We were coming from a bad game in the Cup semi-final in Bilbao, from an ugly game in Cádiz… and honestly yesterday what I was trying to convey is that for us it was time not to ask, but to give. This appeared and I think the team felt the enormous support of our people, which is decisive in our stadium, everyone sees this and our players grow,” the Argentine coach stressed at a press conference.
He then praised the Nerazzurri team. “We played against an incredible opponent in attack, with speed, defensive strength, quick counterattack opportunities… And our center backs played an extraordinary game, the wingers too,” he praised. “Then Memphis came in and showed up because that’s what we need from him, and he has it,” he added.
Amid so much joy at passing the round, Simeone remembered other good moments of the course. “We have already had important games this year. Madrid’s game in the Super Cup was very good and we deserved to win in the 90 minutes, but then in extra time we lost it. And we made up for it immediately after four days by winning them in the Cup,” he pointed out.
“From there, the team performed in the games against Almería, better with Betis, bad with Cádiz… But today it appeared here,” he insisted before giving a warning. “We have to play better away from home and the main person responsible for that is me,” Simeone reiterated.
Likewise, he once again highlighted the work of his pupils. “Today we had a plan and they followed the plan, we lost 0-1 and the plan did not change. They did not think about whether they should run or not, they ran and that’s it, because this stadium is incredible,” added the Colchonero coach.
After losing a league match last weekend in Cádiz, doubts surrounded the Atlético squad. “I thought: ‘It’s the best thing that can happen to us,'” the ‘Cholo’ admitted. “Once again, the team has achieved what almost no one believed. And it happened because they gave themselves, because they played a good game and because we have good players,” he said.
“Today we have beaten, if not the best, one of the four or five best teams in Europe. But now we have to continue improving, for sure, because we can continue improving,” Simeone remarked before extending his praise to Memphis Depay, to Ángel Correa and towards more footballers.
“I’m very happy with how Memphis came in, he had just had a bad game against Cádiz and today he had a great game,” said the ‘Cholo’ before concluding with more praise for Inter. “Since the year began, they have always won or almost always. But in football it can happen that a strong team plays a great game and still loses. It is incredible to play against an opponent that creates danger in all situations,” he concluded. .