Simeone: “We are better than in October”

The Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, has assured that the team has “a lot of faith” and is “convinced” that they can beat Arsenal this Tuesday in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals, after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, and has stated that they are “better than in October”, the last time they visited the Emirates Stadium and when they conceded a painful 4-0.

“We will try to play the game that needs to be played, with the intensity and the capacity for understanding that the game demands. Hopefully the hierarchy of the footballers will raise the team’s performance. We have a lot of faith in what we do, we are convinced and sure of what we want. Afterwards, only the result will not depend on us,” he declared at a press conference.

In this sense, he insisted that they must “be convinced” of what they have to do. “The plan that is chosen will be the plan that will have to be transmitted and carried forward to the end,” he said. “No matter how much we as coaches think about it, football goes through the players and we need to manage their emotions in the best way so that they get to the game well. Afterwards, we can think about an idea, and the game changes as soon as it begins. Experience and time give you more calm, which is not passivity, and the peace to face a game like the one we are going to face tomorrow,” he stressed.

In addition, he joked about the possibility of repeating the good second half of the first leg. “I’m going to try to tell them to do the second part. If it’s that easy, it would be great,” he said. “Both the footballers and the coaches want the game to start and be played. Nothing more than a football match; whoever plays better will have a better chance of winning. And in that space, each one with his own weapons, we manage ourselves. We try to enhance ours and the Arsenal coach will try to enhance his,” he warned.

In another vein, ‘Cholo’ did not want to compare this duel with the one they faced in the league phase at the Emirates and in which they lost 4-0. “I think we are better now than in October, and the hotel was cheaper, that’s why we changed,” he said with a laugh when answering a question about whether they had changed hotels in London out of superstition.

He also explained what he will do in these hours before the game. “Work with what is left to finish the game. We obviously have a clear idea, we hope to convey it in the best way and that tomorrow we can have a great game,” he said.

In another order of things, the rojiblanco coach revealed how Alexander Sorloth, Giuliano and Julián Álvarez are doing. “Yesterday they moved a little, they are better. We hope they can train well. Tomorrow morning we will decide who we start with,” he said, before talking about the Argentine forward.

“He knows the English league very well. Last week he played a very good game, and hopefully tomorrow he can respond in the way that the game demands,” he hoped, and ended by praising the “very important role” of the Norwegian. “We need him a lot. It was a shame that in the previous game at home he couldn’t come in, because he had injured his hamstring. We need him, be it 45, 60, 20 or 10 minutes,” he concluded.