Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone refused to talk about referee Alvaro Izquierdo after his team’s 4-2 away win at Real Betis.

Izquierdo gave the visitors a penalty just after the break and in doing so dismissed defender Damien Perquis for holding back Radamel Falcao, whilst he also sent off substitute Joel Campbell for a second bookable offence.

However, Simeone preferred to comment on the football rather than any controversial decisions by the match officials.

“I don’t want to talk about the referee because it was a very hard match, except for the first 15 minutes. We carried the game to Betis so they could not exploit their speed and the goals they scored were fortunate.

“When we went in at the break their goalkeeper was the best player on the pitch and in the second half the penalty got us on our way.

“Perhaps we were a bit anxious before we got the fourth but on chances made we deserved to win the game,” the Argentine told a Press conference.

Simeone acknowledged he has a good squad at his disposal and reserved particular praise for Raul Garcia.

“It was an important game and the way he plays gives liveliness to the centre of our midfield. He is an all-round player who gives us a number of options.

“I believe in the squad and he plays for the team in each and every game. We also need tall players to hurt our opponents in the air.”

Tags Simeone
La Liga - Club News