Diego Pablo Simeonecoach of Atlético de Madridhe pointed out, after winning at Sevilla (1-0) and resist more than 20 minutes with ten players due to the expulsion of Soyuncu that he feels “responsible” for the red that the Turk saw.
“I feel partly responsible for what happened to Söyüncü. He is a boy who is a physical marvel and we have not given him the necessary time so that he can play continuously,” commented Cholo, in a gesture that defines him.
And he added, in this regard: “He works and trains well, but training is not the same as playing. The expulsion is our responsibility because we have not given him enough minutes to have that continuous time and adapt to the team. We haven’t given him enough minutes“.
Regarding the match, the red and white coach explained that they have had “several matches” with a lot of “extra effort.”
“One more game we played with one less. Today we were able to respond to that situation of playing with one less and it is a very good year from December to December where we played, I think 50 games and we lost 8 and scored 104 goals. This year, of December to December was very good.”
Asked if the team is fighting for the League title, now seven points behind the leader, Simeone said that they are faithful to their “game by game” philosophy.
“We have a path that is game by game. We look for the best, which is to continue working in the same way and grow and be a protagonist. In the first half we wanted to manage the game, but we didn’t know how to enter well because they were very closed. We need to defend better. It is the step we have ahead of us,” he said.
Simeone was very happy with the reappearance of the Mozambican footballer Reinildo Mandava, absent for 10 months due to injury. “We are very happy with Reinildo’s entry. The player has been waiting for it for a long time and he deserved it. We have not found the moment until today. It was very nice to hear the songs they gave him in the locker room,” said Cholo, who He is celebrating 12 years at the head of the club.
Regarding Llorente, his goal and his effort, Simeone indicated that they have “a lot” of players “with what Llorente shows. “We have a good team. I already said the other day that footballers who have effort as raw material have their place,” he said.
Now it will be time to rest for Atlético, who this Saturday against Sevilla completed a match pending on Date 4. The colchonero’s next appointment will be one of the important ones in the course of La Liga: on Wednesday, January 3, they visit Girona, leader along with Real Madrid.