Another away fixture meant more suffering for Atlético Madrid, as 10 men secured only a point away at struggling Real Mallorca. Julián Alvarez missed a first-half penalty and Alexander Sørloth was shown a red card in the 72nd minute — and after Conor Gallagher gave the team the lead in the 79th minute, Vedat Muriqi equalized just six minutes later.
When asked about the difference behind potential title rivals, Simeone said “we’re trying to build a new team, a lot of players have arrived and we knew
this could happen, that we were going to go through this process.
“We hope that efficiency and forcefulness will bring us closer to the reality we deserve and don’t yet have,” Simeone said, before directly answering another question on whether his team still believed there was a chance to challenge for LaLiga — despite a nine-point gap to leaders Real Madrid.
“Yes, there’s a game against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday,” he said.
Diego Simeone on the result
“The team played well: we controlled the game, we pushed our opponents back, we created chances, but we lacked efficiency, which is what makes the difference. The work is there: the players are committed and are following the path we have set out. The game went as we had planned. Being decisive gives you the chance to draw at Liverpool or win today. It’s part of the game, part of football.”
Diego Simeone on the Julián for Sørloth change
“(Alvarez) is the best player we have, offensively for sure. We need him at his best. He was having a very good game, but I understood that we needed Sørloth to create some more dangerous situations inside the area. He was sent off in a confusing play. We were down to 10 men. And with Julián… all players get angry when they’re substituted.”
Diego Simeone on Sørloth’s sending off
“There’s no point in arguing whether it was or wasn’t. In the end, it was a red card. With one less player, we got organized and scored a goal thanks to Llorente’s speed. We did what we had to do. We couldn’t hold on because of that great goal by Muriqi.”
Diego Simeone on taking off Barrios
“He had played 90 minutes the other day, and he had taken a knock behind the knee. I noticed he was limping. Conor came on and, luckily, scored a goal.”
Diego Simeone on only taking a point
“From a coach’s point of view, you have to look at the positives and correct what needs to be corrected. We’re conceding a lot of goals, and we have to improve that. In attack, we’ve started winning almost every game, except in Liverpool, where we still scored two goals. We also need to improve in terms of holding on to our lead, as we did against Villarreal: we need to approach the game with more confidence.”
Diego Simeone on another late goal conceded
“First, we took the lead with one less player. We put Llorente up front and he was able to interpret what we had planned. Then Muriqi equalized with a great goal.”
Diego Simeone on his message to the team
“To continue working in the same vein. The path on which the game was played is the way we need to play. We need to be more effective in the opposition’s area and in our own.”
