Diego Pablo Simeone has appeared this Friday at the press conference for this Saturday's confrontation between Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla. However, the headlines have been questions related to Real Madrid-Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. The Argentine has been questioned because he thought the hookup between Vinicius and Frenkie de Jong in the first half resulted in a yellow card for the Brazilian striker and no punishment for the Dutch midfielder, while in a similar match almost two months ago, between Savic and Ferrán Torres, the referee will decide to expel both players.
“Just as you saw it, what you have explained in your question is what we, seeing the images, also ask ourselves. What was seen is very difficult to put more things. As such, it depends on the interpretation of what the referees intend to do so that everything is even ”, he has argued.
Another of the star themes has been an account of the style of Xavi's Barcelona, which last night was far from what he advocates, with barely 35% possession and only two saves on goal. “Football is a game that alternates situations in matches and Barcelona understood that at this moment they needed that match to win and I represent it in the best possible way to lift the first match. Afterwards, words are words, the only thing that counts are the facts, and the facts are that Barcelona found it comfortable, they did it very well, they defended organized and Madrid had no situations", Cholo has analyzed.
"You have to respect the different ways of winning"
In this sense, they have transferred to Simeone that it seems that this stigma of defensive play weighs on Atlético, to the point of saying that yesterday Barcelona had played “like Atlético”. “Exactly, a function is positioned in a certain situation and even if that is not seen, it appears. And when represented by any other team it is normal. I no longer get into this type of situation because the only thing that counts is winning. There are different ways to win and they are all good, and you have to respect them and be consistent with what you feel, ”he defended.
Regarding his team's match, the Buenos Aires coach stressed that Sevilla, weighing on their bad situation in La Liga, "will always be Sevilla, a strong, competitive team that gives its all until the final, which in the Europa League He has options and he is recovering in LaLiga”.
In addition, he has ensured that the people of Seville are on the right path and that they have experienced a recovery since the arrival of his compatriot Sampaoli: “They took many important players out of him in defense and that is not easy. Sampaoli has generated order and work, a recognized system, a team that attacks very well in their disorder and generates a good game. He has grown a lot since Sampaoli arrived and what he transmitted to the pressure team, high recovery, and handling the low or high block in the greatest way ”.
New requests for support from the fans
Regarding his own team, he has insisted on the improvement since the return of the World Cup because his players are working "collectively very well" and he has returned to launch messages on up to three occasions asking for the support of his fans. Hopefully we can have significant support from our people. The nice thing that remains for us is the opportunity to return to the Champions League, and it is always an illusion to see your team in that competition. And for that we need the four legs that have always made us an important team”, he reiterated.
Finally, facing the possible eleven, Atlético de Madrid has lost Paul, Reguilón and Reinildo due to injury (due to a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee) and Correa and Nahuel Molina due to suspension. This last absence could give the option to debut the signing of the summer market, Matt Doherty, initially as a substitute for what Simeone has been rehearsing and for what can be deduced from his own words: "Doherty is working very well, he is going from less to more, and he has options to play tomorrow and if it's his turn or if it's his turn for a while, we hope he does it in the best way.
