MADRID, 6 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, highlighted this Tuesday that any player on the red and white team “is responding”, so they are “a team”, which means that “all the other situations that surround the game they get better.”
“The boys are working very well, it makes me very happy that every time we need any of the squad, they respond how they should respond and that is being a team. From being a team, all the other situations that surround of the game improve, without a doubt,” highlighted the Argentine in the preview of the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Athletic Club this Wednesday (9:30 p.m.).
The coach commented that they seek to take “the game forward”, knowing that they are playing “against an important rival” who “has a lot of speed, a lot of pressure and great management from their coach.” “I like how the opponent plays and from there we hope to take the game where we believe we can hurt them,” he hoped.
“Both teams arrived with great enthusiasm, with great enthusiasm, with great desire to compete and, without a doubt, it will be a beautiful match. Tomorrow I expect a huge atmosphere in our stadium. We need our people more than ever, because they feel when they are there. The team with them has another step, another energy and hopefully we can have an important night with our fans,” he stressed.
The Argentine coach is clear that “the two Williams are very important for his team”, Iñaki “from his experience” and Nico “from his youth.” “Surely they will both play tomorrow, regardless of the discomfort that Nico may have,” predicted the Argentine.
Focusing on his team, Simeone praised Marcos Llorente and his performance, with a goal, at the Santiago Bernabéu. “The other day he started as a winger, continued as a winger, moved to the wing and ended up as a center midfielder. He was lacking as a forward because I like him too. He is an important player, he is always there for what the team needs. We need players with that essence” , he claimed.
Furthermore, he sees compatibility between Memphis Depay and Álvaro Morata. “It is possible that they could play together. They have already done it for a while, although not both of them as starters. I think the best thing that is happening to Memphis is that it is having consistency and that is what we need,” he added.
“Morata has been having an extraordinary season, being very important for the team and playing an enormous number of games. Memphis is now entering the line where we need him and taking on the importance for which we think of him. Now we need him 60, 20, 90 minutes, whatever the coach decides,” he said about the Spanish striker.
Regarding the various formation changes that the coach made in the last match against Real Madrid, Simeone stressed that they will continue in “the same line of playing with five.” “I think we can vary that depending on the position of one of the wingers, but the team is working well that way and we will surely continue the same,” he said.