Diego Simeone admits Atletico Madrid have yet to find Barcelona’s kryptonite ahead of Saturday’s La Liga showdown at the Vicente Calderon.
Los Colchoneros have won just one of their last 16 meetings with the Catalans, despite both sides maintaining 100 percent records after two matches, and the Coach hopes his troops can take full advantage of playing at home.
“[On Koke’s position], we’re only two games into the season, so he’ll play on the wing again,” he said at a Press conference.
“We can talk about assumptions if we have more chances now against Barca. We’ll see what happens.
“The excitement and enthusiasm of playing at the Calderon stimulates us.
“I congratulate [Lionel Messi] on becoming a father. It’s a great moment in anyone’s life.
“[Barca] have been winning, despite not being at their best. They’re always dangerous.
“They haven’t played with their usual consistency, but [their ability to grind out victories] comes from winning everything last season, so we have maximum respect for their players and Coach.
“We’re transmitting enthusiasm at the moment. We adopted a similar approach for the game against Sevilla.
“We must play very well [on Saturday]. That goes for whoever starts or comes on as a substitute.
“I’ve yet to decide on whether [Fernando Torres] or Jackson [Martinez will start], but I will [on Saturday].
“We’ve still not found the perfect key [to unlock Barca], but we have competed with them in our last few matches.
“We’ll be in the thick of a midfield battle, waiting for an opportunity to hit them on the break, while maintaining possession.
“Antoine has enjoyed tremendous growth thanks to his enthusiasm and desire to improve.
“He needs to work on a few things if he wants to go right to the very top, but we hope he can [reach Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi’s level].
“[On differences in budget], it doesn’t make a difference in a match situation. Anything can happen.”
