Diego Simeone has maintained that Atletico Madrid’s objectives for the rest of the season “remain the same as six months ago”.
Los Colchoneros lost ground in their La Liga title defence with a 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo last weekend, but the Coach believes the loss at Balaidos was their only disappointing performance of the campaign and that Champions League qualification is still their main priority.
“We’re only thinking about the match against Almeria, which is very important for our current form,” he told reporters ahead of Atleti’s match against Almeria on Saturday.
“Hopefully we can respond to the characteristics of the match. Our opponents play with a lot of speed in attack, but hopefully we can tackle the game in a way which suits us.
“Valencia are well equipped and Sevilla are progressing under Emery. They’re our rivals in the struggle for our main objective.
“Villarreal have also grown tremendously, although injuries may impair them.
“Our [objective for the] campaign remains the same as six months ago – to compete with Sevilla and Valencia [for Champions League qualification].
"We’re thinking about the games coming up [regarding the Champions League next week].
“We return to the Calderon after the good win against Madrid, with our fans and the enthusiasm generated by the team.
“Beyond the first half in Vigo, we’ve given everything in every tournament so far this season.
“[Sunday] will be more of the same, trying to take the match where we feel most comfortable.
"The arrival of JIM [Juan Ignacio Martinez] was very good for Almeria. He’s a Coach, who works very well and his teams are always strong and organised.
“They have good players. [Fernando] Soriano is still a reference point for them, despite his age. He’s an admirable guy in how he competes and how important he remains.
“Since the start of the season, we never wanted to compare [this year to the last one]. This is another squad, in which their success depends on the work they do game by game.”
