“We are the champion and they will come out to bite us”

Simeone gets serious. The Atlético coach was very demanding with his players in training in Majadahonda. El Cholo stopped the work session a couple of times to make his players see that things were not being done the way he wanted. After a warm-up, the coach trained his players on the pitch and They began to perform tactical exercises, ball movements, band pressure … It lasted a while because Simeone gathered his players in the center of the field and then there was silence in Majadahonda.

“We are the champion and he has to know that they are going to come out to bite us. And we, meanwhile, with a tight ass”, he said, among many other things, to his footballers, gathered in a circle around their coach. It was a flat, simple talk, but Cholo made everything very clear. The technician urged Correa and Marcos Llorente to press well on the pressure. They are in charge of making it difficult for the rival to get the ball out. The coach indicated that if they do not do well, Lemar will find himself in difficulties and later Hermoso and Saúl in his band.

The tactical session lasted more than an hour. And he repeated over and over the pressure from both sides. By right with Carrasco and Koke. On the left, with Lemar and Saúl. All to one when the rival is close, in band. Nothing new in Simeone's manual. But the technician gave him one more turn before what is coming. At Atlético they are aware that if they let Celta play, they will have a hard time. And you have to press, steal … And if the team loses the ball, rearm quickly to get back together and press. The coach gave an example of a play from Sunday's game against Feyenoord.

Later he stopped training again. This time to tell Carrasco how he has to play in that right lane position. El Cholo wants him to lean on his companions, to seek to associate and not make war on his own. After these trials, most of the players withdrew from the field of play. But not all.

Simeone rehearsed the defensive work with the centrals and the lanes. Saúl will play again on the left wing and Carrasco will play on the right. Savic, Giménez and Hermoso know each other perfectly, although they have not played together this preseason. There is no time for rest or relaxation. The league debut is just around the corner and Cholo squeezed his players. The champion wants to start with a win defending the title.