Tiago Mendes has dedicated his goal against Real Madrid to Atletico Madrid assistant coach Mono Burgos.
The Portuguese midfielder opened the scoring in the champions’ 2-1 win over Los Blancos at Santiago Bernabeu, Arda Turan netting in the second half after Cristiano Ronaldo equalised in the first from the penalty spot.
Burgos was on the touchline in place of the suspended Diego Simeone and Tiago told reporters after the final whistle that his goal was the result of hard work on the training ground.
“We worked on set-pieces and it went fantastically well,” he said, according to AS.
“I want to dedicate it to Mono. I said I was going to score. It’s a result of the work of everyone, the team, the substitutes, the staff, all of us.
“That’s why we’re a team, because we know we are all important. Anyone can decide the game.
“When Antoine Griezmann and Arda Turan came on, they made the difference.
“Arda has that calmness, that great quality and he can do things with the ball. But it’s the whole team, when we’re 100% things go well.”
Tiago added that to beat Madrid at the Bernabeu for a second straight season shows what Atletico are capable of.
“Playing Madrid requires a lot as a team, we all give 100% and we left feeling fantastic,” he continued.
“It’s not easy to win here and it shows the strength of this team. We’re very happy.”
