Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone spoke following the team’s first-ever defeat on matchday one under his reign. It came courtesy of a 2-1 loss to Espanyol in Cornellà, despite Atlético having initially led the game 1-0.
Simeone was heavily criticised for his part in the defeat, with his decision to take off Álex Baena and Thiago Almada for Antoine Griezmann and Giacomo Raspadori drawing significant heat.
“I think I had a learning experience for myself,” he confessed. “I’ll keep something to myself, but
I take away a lesson from what we saw, there’s a learning for me there, you’ll see it.”
Simeone on what caused the defeat
“What we saw. They made good use of the opportunities they had: first from a set piece, and then that 2-1 that hurt us and took away our chance of winning or drawing.”
Simeone on if he’s concerned about the defence
“It’s part of the process. This result hurts, but it will help us improve and grow. From there, I’ll focus on all the good things the team did. We’re going to work to correct the mistakes that were made.”
Simeone on his takeaways
“I’ll take away a lot of things. Until the 60th minute, with that nice play that ended up hitting the post, the team played well, controlled the game, moved the ball well, with personality. But the important thing is to win. I can’t be satisfied with a negative result.”
Simeone on where it went wrong
“We managed the match well until that goal we talked about. It had been a good game and we wanted to bring on some fresh players. I liked Almada, Álex, Johnny… Nobody wants to win more than me, but we lost.”
Simeone on Julián Álvarez’s angry reaction to being taken off
“It’s normal for Julián to get angry at the substitution; we all get angry, even when playing with friends. He was having a good game.”
Simeone on whether Atleti deserved to lose
“We controlled the game well until the 60th minute, when Espanyol took advantage of a set piece with a good goal. That was down to Espanyol’s merit.”
