Simeone: "This win doesn't change our approach"

Diego Simeone, coach of Atlético Madrid, talked after recording his second consecutive league win the Bernabéu, the first time the club have ever managed the feat. With Casillas having been whistled during the match, after Madrid conceded the opening goal from a corner, there was the inevitable question about the Real keeper:

Casillas, is he still the player you like most at Real?

It would be a lack of respect to say otherwise and it would underestimate his career.

Is it like playing at home now, playing in the Bernabéu?

No, it’s not like playing at home. We have a lot of respect for this ground. It’s tough to play here, it’s not common to win here, but we started well in the first half. After that I didn’t like what the team did, because we lacked precision between the lines and didn’t have the ball. We got a bit better later on. With Koke in the middle we were more fluid, and Arda gave us more football and Griezmann more pace up front.

Alternatives

Tactically we were good but still in the first half we made life difficult for ourselves in the opening minutes struggling to get the ball back. Jiménez did well as did Mandzukic and then, thanks to our different characteristics, we took advantage of the strength of the squad. That gave us a lot of speed.

Approach [Simeone’s famously repeated one game at a time]

We’re not going to change. I think this was the first time the club have won twice in a row in the league at the Bernabéu and that’s really important for our fans and for the team, who are rearming. It’s still hard for us to have continuity but the capacity for work that they’ve shown and what we saw in the second half, I’m happy. Raúl did well, he holds the ball up well, and that allows us to attack with more midfielders and the wingbacks. I’m convinced he’s going to give us a lot. He’s got the talent and class.

Are you used to beating Madrid?

The best thing about football is that you always have a chance and I think we’ve taken our opportunities in the games where we’ve had to, but today’s result doesn’t mean I’m going to change the approach. That’s important for the people surrounding the club. We’ve got the core of the team, which is the strength of the group and hopefully we can keep growing. Our strength comes from our hard work.

Comparison between this squad and last year’s...

I don’t compare them, because comparisons aren’t any good. It’s a different team.

Gabi taken off

It was just based on the match, nothing more.

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