Diego Simeone: “When your rival is better than you, accept it and learn from it.”

Speaking to Movistar after Atlético Madrid’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League, Diego Simeone admitted the Premier League side were better on the night.

“We tried to press them high and cause difficulties for them bringing the ball out. They were superior. We weren’t good in attack. Tonight was João Félix’s best game for the club, this is the player we want. Saúl played well too. When your rival is better than you, accept it and learn from it.”

On Luis Suárez

“It’s normal that he got angry when he was taken off, players want to stay on. We wanted a new way to attack them so we made changes.”

On the second half

“We started with 4 players in attack to press them high, we tried that, it’s a lot of work for the players. We then tried to push Lodi and Trippier forward to work as a cohesive unit. In the second half, we looked for another way to play. We shifted to a 3-4-2-1 and they played better in that system.”

More European Football News