MY ACCOUNT
Diego Simeone seemed optimistic despite seeing his Atletico Madrid team fail to beat Espanyol at the Metropolitano, even with a man advantage.
The visitors had Leandro Cabrera sent off after 28 minutes on Sunday after he fouled Alvaro Morata to deny him getting in on goal, leaving Atletico with more than an hour with an extra player.
However, it was Espanyol who took the lead just after the hour through Sergi Darder’s volley, before substitute Joao Felix fired in a leveller with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Simeone expressed his gratitude for the love he has received at the club since taking over as head coach in 2011, with some believing him to be under pressure after finishing bottom of their Champions League group and falling 10 points behind the top of LaLiga.
“I came to Atletico young and the first season was very bad and [the fans] always loved me without having given them absolutely anything,” he said. “Then we won the Copa del Rey (2012-13) and the league (2013-14).
“I was lucky enough to come back as a player and a coach. I am grateful to Atletico Madrid for life, the love I feel is not going to upset me in the current circumstances.”
Atletico attempted 27 shots in the game, their highest tally in all competitions since February 2021 against Levante (28).
They hit the target just seven times though, and also found Espanyol goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte in fine form.
“We had chances,” Simeone added. “They scored, and after scoring the desire to generate danger and intensity went up one more step. If one has forcefulness, the mental part grows. When you see that you have 27 shots and you don’t win… We tend to have more precision, hopefully we can adjust that.”
Despite exiting Europe and having not won any of their last four games in all competitions, Simeone looked on the bright side.
“After [losing to] Porto [in midweek], the Champions League and Europe are closed and a new tournament begins in LaLiga, where we are not doing badly.
“We have to be confident in what we do and hope this doesn’t break. At least we didn’t lose, we could have won it, and a draw keeps us in the top four.”
