Diego Simoene hailed the influence of veteran midfielder Tiago Mendes as Atletico Madrid went top of the League by beating Getafe.
Antoine Griezmann scored both goals of the 2-0 win but it was Tiago first singled out for praise from the Coach.
“He is a very important player for us. He’s the brains of the team. He interprets what the teams needs and he improves with age,” AS quotes Cholo as saying.
“When he came in to the team the team changed and stopped suffering in their minds that there could be a goal from the opponent. Atletico improved and controlled the game.
“We’re happy with the squad we have and it’s clear that it’s difficult to have two Tiagos in the squad. You can’t pay two Tiagos.”
Simeone was then asked about two of the team’s younger players, Angel Correa and Oliver Torres, and the goal scorer Griezmann.
“Correa is very difficult to mark. He’s growing and we’re not rushing it. We have to give him minutes at certain times. He did well,” the trainer continued.
“Oliver too inexperienced to control the team? He’s a boy who is growing. The experience is in playing. This isn’t an easy team to play in. He has the support and the quality to have the season we expect from him.
“Griezmann is in very good form. He’s grown a huge amount and is a very important player for the team.
“I see a circle around the team of anxiety, expectation and it seems that everything is easy and it isn’t.
“I’m happy with the players. There are a lot of young guys and my only hope is that we don’t deviate from going game to game.”
