Simeone praises “ready and focused” Valencia for earning comeback draw against Atletico

Atletico Madrid travelled to Mestalla today to face Valencia and incredibly threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 in injury time.

Atletico took the lead in the 35th minute. Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa combined beautifully before threading a through ball into Luis Suarez. El Pistolero was customarily clinical, finishing coolly to score his seventh goal of the season.

Valencia got back on level terms five minutes into the second half. Goncalo Guedes’ cross from the right side deflected off Stefan Savic and nestled in the back of the net.

Atletico hit back in a matter of minutes, however. Griezmann picked the ball up and ran from deep, with Suarez making a run that opened up space for the Frenchman and enable him to fire a left-footed rocket into the top corner of the net from distance.

Valencia got another goal back in the 92nd minute to set up a nervy finish. Jose Gaya crossed from the left flank and Hugo Duro managed to finish well and beat Jan Oblak in Atletico’s goal.

Then, with Mestalla willing the ball into the net, Valencia scored another equaliser in the 96th minute. Duro was the man to deliver the goal once again, scoring with a header after Goncalo Guedes whipped the ball in from a corner on the left side.

“In the end they did everything to get a goal from a set-piece, some chaos in the area,” Diego Simeone said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “They were ready and focused and it’s a merited draw for Valencia.

“I’ve said it in the dressing room, that it’s a pity we dropped those two points. It was a great game, with 80-85 very good minutes, great personality. But unfortunately, while sometimes we are right, today we were wrong.”

Tags Atletico Madrid Diego Simeone La Liga Valencia
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