Atletico de Madrid boss Diego Simeone sent a special message to the club’s fans following Saturday night’s La Liga victory over Alaves.
The result established Atleti’s place in third in the standings and was their fourth successive victory – their best run of form of the season.
Simeone was inevitably quizzed in the post-match press conference about how the match went, whether he was happy with his player’s performance and how he approached the game tactically.
However, the Argentine dedicated an unprompted message for the club’s fans – who of course have not been able to attend the matches since the return of Spanish football earlier this month.
💻🎙DIEGO PABLO SIMEONE. “Quería mandar un saludo a la gente, la extrañamos de verdad. A los hinchas y aficionados del Atlético de Madrid. Ver el estadio vacío es duro. Los extrañamos”. ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/MBLSDBXK21
— Atleti Internacional (@ATMinter) June 28, 2020
“I want to say hello to the fans,” Simeone explained to reporters.
“We really miss them, we really miss all the Atletico Madrid supporters. For me and for the players, seeing our stands empty for games is very tough. I wanted to tell them that I missed them.”
Second half goals from Saul Niguez and Diego Costa – the latter from the penalty spot – was enough to secure a fourth successive triumph for Simeone’s side, despite a late consolation penalty from Joselu.
The result moves them four points clear of fourth-placed Sevilla and nine clear of Getafe, in fifth.