Diego Simeone has described striker Luciano Vietto as ‘one of the best players’ at Atletico Madrid despite his lack of game time.
The Argentine forward made his ninth appearance of the season for Los Rojiblancos in their 3-0 Copa Del Rey win over Elche, but he is yet to find the back of the net.
“Vietto is one of the best players we have,” Simeone told his press conference.
“We must protect him, he is in a position whereby if he is not scoring then he comes under a lot of scrutiny and criticism.
“He is one of our best performing forwards and we must work with him to ensure his confidence returns as he is fantastic.
“The performance from Fernando (Torres, who scored two goals) was very important and he showed a lot of quality in front of goal.
“We will give this tournament a lot of respect and it holds a special place in our hearts, with lots of happy memories.”
