Atlético Madrid booked their place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after seeing off Deportivo La Coruña with a 1-0 win on Tuesday night in Galicia, courtesy of a magnificent free-kick from Antoine Griezmann.
“As he scored the goal, the comments I hear are positive because I didn’t take him off, I took Julián (Alvarez) off,” coach Diego Simeone joked when asked about his match-winner.
“He scored a great goal and they are players who make a difference,” the coach continued. “He still has the magic that fuels him and makes him excited to continue helping the team, as he has done with this goal.”
Diego Simeone on the game
“Deportivo compete well, they have personality, a good counterattack, and they are strong at home because they are brave. In the first half, we could have been more decisive. In the second half, we played that way until the goal came. We could have finished off some counterattacks better, but we knew we needed to be in the quarter-finals. We are in the quarter-finals to continue competing.”
Diego Simeone on transfer business
“We’re not going to reveal what we discussed with Mateu (Alemany), Carlos (Bucero) and Miguel (Ángel Gil Marín). The club is working on what it needs. The player who arrives will help us compensate for the departure of the lads who have left.”
Diego Simeone on poor finishing
“I’d be more concerned if we weren’t creating chances. We need to fine-tune, increase the impact of the most important players in the team, who are on the attacking side. I’m sure we’ll score as many goals as we have in recent years because the team creates chances.”
Diego Simeone on Copa excitement
“Excitement is being at Atlético, it’s playing in this shirt. We play every tournament with the excitement of going as far as possible.”
