Simeone: “We have to do well against Athletic to get to Wednesday better”

The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, has assured that he thinks “zero” about the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Arsenal, but has recognized that getting a good result this Saturday against Athletic Club can help them “get there better” to Wednesday.

“The locker room is very good, knowing what we are at stake, knowing the opportunity we lost in the Copa del Rey final and with the expectation of what is to come, as a result of what it has cost us to get to this place, and what we can achieve if things go as we want. As for me, the same as them,” he declared at a press conference.

Furthermore, he was not worried about the possibility of losing fourth place. “We always try to look at whoever is closest to us, whether downward or upward. And in this case, I think we are five points behind Villarreal and eight points behind Betis,” he stressed, before revealing how much he thinks about Wednesday’s match against Arsenal. “Zero,” he stressed.

Regarding the duel against Athletic, he assured that they give it “the same importance” as “all the games.” “Tomorrow we are going to face an opponent who won an important match a couple of days ago, which leaves them calmer in the table, with players who we know are important. We will try to take the match to where we believe we can hurt them,” he said.

He also insisted that the streak of four consecutive league defeats they have accumulated, seven in the last eight games in all competitions, will not affect them. “Honestly, I don’t think what happened earlier in the game is reflected, because there is an emotion that is very great. When it is our turn to play the game, surely the team will be very good. Now we are thinking about Athletic,” he warned.

Of course, the Argentine coach recognized that a win this Saturday could help them get to the first confrontation with the Gunners in a better mood. “It is always important to do things well in the game before any competition like the one we are going to play in. Tomorrow we have to play an important game to better prepare for whatever comes on Wednesday,” he said.

In another order of things, he explained that goalkeeper Jan Oblak “is recovering” but that he will play. “The other day he had his first game, tomorrow he will play again. We will see how he responds and we will continue day to day as always,” he said, before talking about Dávid Hancko and Alexander Sorloth. “Hancko is still in the recovery phase. Alex is better. Lookman still has to wait, so it’s a good thing we took him out of the game against Betis, because otherwise it could possibly have been worse. But hey, nothing happens,” he said.

He also spoke about the importance that the youth players are having in these last matches. “They have had a great opportunity this season because the team has had the possibility of being in the three competitions almost until the end. We will see if we can reach the Champions League until the end, that is a lot of games. You have to manage a squad in the best way to be able to compete in the three competitions and the boys have given us the opportunity to compete,” he noted.

“Some clearly did better than others, as always, and with the expectation of always looking towards the youth team because it is the force of the future,” he added, addressing the accusations of adulteration of the competition that some teams from the lower zone have made against him. “My expectation is to compete in the three competitions until the end. We have two games left to play all the games that can be played in the year,” he concluded.