Diego Simeone showered praise on Kevin Gameiro after the super-sub’s hat-trick in Atletico Madrid’s 4-1 win at Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
Gameiro scored La Liga’s quickest treble in 22 years when he took just 4:45 to fire Atleti past Sporting, prompting Simeone to express his delight with the striker’s impact.
“The changes in the second half were decisive because they gave us balance in the middle of the park and then the pace of Gameiro decided [the result],” the Coach said after the game.
“I wasn’t expecting a different scenario. This is a stadium in which we’ve always had a hard time winning.
“We were better in the last 15 minutes thanks to our changes in the middle, but in the first half, Correa and Griezmann had clear chances.
“I was very happy for Gameiro because it’s not easy to score three goals that were also very important for the team.
“In the last few minutes, like against Celta, he picked up a knock but carried on playing.
“I’m also happy because the team showed they knew how to react after conceding a goal.”
