Diego Simeone says Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Roma on Wednesday was the result of strong support, playing with heart and Antoine Griezmann.
Griezmann’s overhead kick and assist in the final 20 minutes left Atleti needing to beat Chelsea and Qarabag to hold Roma for a place in the Champions League knockout stages, and Simeone hailed his side for keeping their composure against the Giallorossi.
“The team had a great game, we won deservedly,“ the Coach said after the game.
“The second half was like the one we had in Rome. It was then that the most important thing appeared – a goal that paved the way to a victory.
“The team didn’t lose their composure as the game went on and played with heart, which led to the win.
“The night began with the support of our fans, and from there, we found ourselves and covered lots of ground. Antoine is also an important player, who won us another game tonight.
“Thomas is extraordinary. He also acts as cover when we have injuries, and he responded with a lot of quality and got better as the game went on.
“Young people like him and Lucas are growing, and they’re on track to become good players.
“Torres was very good up top and his work was for all to see, but everyone’s important here.
“There’s only room for good players at big clubs, and they compete among themselves to help the team more.
“There’s still time for us to improve and think positively until our next game ends. I know my players and they’re going to give their all.
“Football is wonderful. Perhaps we deserved to draw against Depor and Celta, but we deserved to beat Qarabag and Roma, although the ball didn’t want to go in.
“Chelsea attacked once [against Qarabag] and caused a penalty to be given to them and a red card to be shown to Qarabag.
“Berizzo? I sent him a message of encouragement via the phone.”
