Diego Simeone admits “I laugh when people say we’re now an attacking team and that we now play good football” after Atletico Madrid’s win against Malaga.
A brace each from Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro fired Atleti back to winning ways via a 4-2 victory, despite a red card for Stefan Savic, but Simeone opted to take exception with the praise his side had received in that they were seen to have become a more attractive team before the game.
“Gameiro’s done well for several games, hence his return to the [French] national team,” the Coach remarked.
“It was a difficult game, but we controlled it well. It was a deserved and hard-fought win.
“I saw the team to be strong and decisive as there’s always danger [of dropping points] at 3-2.
“The change of Correa and Carrasco’s positions was a success. From this came the goal.
“Carrasco has been growing with work and effort. He works as hard as anyone else and recovers many balls.
“He’s still growing and he has a lot to give. We hope he realises that his best quality is his ambition.
“The best thing about Carrasco is that he’s one more player in the team, not just his goals.
“When our opponents play in a 5-4-1, it allows us to have more presence in our opponents’ half of the pitch.
“I laugh when people say we’re now an attacking team and that we now play good football.
“I remember the Europa League final and European Super Cup, just look at the squads in those games. Facts speak louder than words.
“It was a strange game. We always found ourselves with a short lead. The game became more complex when we had one less man, but we resolved it with seniority.”
