The Atlético coach spoke at a press conference about the match against Real Madrid. Diego Pablo Simeone indicated that “I cannot clarify more things than what the Atlético tweet says. I broadcast what I see. It was a nice, nice game, like everyone here, against a very strong opponent, we overcame Reinildo’s injury, a very important player, we overcame a sending off. The referee sees Ángel’s moment, but we have the VAR option, that the blow does not have the violence to take a player off the pitch, we don’t know if he called it or not… We had to, once again, not have this type of play in our favour… We need help, the VAR allows us to have the option of seeing the play. There are a lot of people helping, we all need to compete in the best way”.
Expulsions against Madrid: “We focus on what we have to improve. In the first derby they were better, we reacted after the break, they sent off Mario… In the Cup they could send off Ceballos, they didn’t, they understood that it wasn’t yellow. Then they understood that it was yellow in an action in which the rival goes towards the corner. Today they understood Ángel that way. We all need to be better, it gives you more peace of mind. There are things that are very clear, you see it”.
healthy competition: “I believe in people who work and there is help from the VAR. There are aids, there are situations that can help. I understand that we can be wrong, but I keep saying thankfully that the VAR is there, thankfully…”.
Reinildo: “He needs to get strong in the head, he is strong, he is a boy that we are going to miss, he has a laugh, he always wears short sleeves in training, despite the cold weather. We wish him a speedy recovery and he will come back stronger.”
Tie: “We were chameleons, we changed during the game. We had counterattacks where we could solve better, that pass from Barrios to Llorente… In the second half we tried to continue with two forwards up front, we made a second half with interesting plays, the expulsion came, we mutated again, with Carrasco, Lemar, Griezmann… We defended ourselves with footballers who attack. We were able to better defend the center and knowing that in the end they are a very dangerous team”.
Gil Manzano: “Yes, I still think that he is a barbaric referee. I don’t know if they had the talk with the VAR. The contact was not so violent that one of 1.94 fell fainting. There are people who pay to see the players. Football is contact”.
Numbers at the Bernabéu: “I was lucky, they tell me Cholo stay, Cholo stay. It is very good”.
The technician also spoke on DAZN:
Was Correa red?
A contact is not a hit. Rüdiger is 1.94. A blow as brutal as he apparently was leaves him sitting up, though he quickly stands up. He can be yellow, but if we remove a player for that situation, there would not be a player left on the field. There are gestures that happen and that this time he did not play in our favor. We understand it, it repeats itself, it is becoming normal and it is not good. It would be nice if we could all compete in the same way. VAR exposes errors much more. We all end up seeing everything. We have to accept it, we all have to help and it will be better that way. Sometimes it comes in favor, other times against. But every time we come here it’s not our turn in favor.
Has football been unfair to Atlético? Injuries, one red, 1-1…
We are left with the feeling of wanting to win the game. Finding yourself with one less and scoring a goal, you are close to victory despite knowing that Madrid, especially Madrid, becomes very strong in the final stages, has a lot of security, trusts in what it does and is extremely dangerous. Reinildo’s injury appeared, we recovered… Unfortunately we are going to lose him an important time, a boy who gives his soul in every ball. It is a pity. We also recovered from the expulsion… We left Carrasco and Morata in case we could win against them. The fans leave happy and proud.
How is Reinildo?
It is a major injury. A pity, it’s time to be close to him. You have to be strong. In five or six months it becomes the best way…