Atletico Madrid captain Koke Resurreccion has claimed that their inability to put together a consistent run of victories is down to the busy fixture list they are facing. The growing concern over the build up of games in recent years is not just a physical issue, but a mental one in Koke’s eyes.
Los Rojiblancos go into the second leg with Club Brugge level after a 3-3 draw in Belgium last week. Atletico took a 2-0 lead in the first half, but Brugge put in a rousing effort to make a comeback on two occasions. Manager Diego Simeone was not banking on anything in the second leg.
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“The match is unpredictable; things don’t always go as planned. We’ll approach the game in a way that we believe will be effective. We need our fans, their energy that flows down and fuels us, and we have to give it back to them,” Simeone told the press.
Simeone on favourites pressure
Brugge travel to Madrid with the prize of an historic result on the line, and the confidence they can go head-to-head with Los Colchoneros. Simeone was asked if he feared the fact that their opposition had nothing to lose, and how he was dealing with the favourites tag.
“I’m not thinking that way. I see a team that plays well, is brave, and competes very well, with a coach who is doing his best.”
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“We are clear about our role in tomorrow’s game, the opponent will not change and it will be a similar game to the other day.”
Atletico Madrid style of play and forward line
At the weekend Atletico Madrid returned to form, with Alexander Sorloth having one of his best games of the season. He did so alongside Antoine Griezmann rather than Julian Alvarez though.
“Are they compatible? They’ve played a lot of games together. They’re compatible for tomorrow and for any game.”
Simeone has admitted in recent weeks that his side struggle against low-blocks, and he was asked if they were a side that liked to play on the break.
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“The players we have lead us to that position; with more attacking players we’ve improved in that aspect, and we need to recover our defensive strength, although it’s not too bad in the league, and even so, we’re far from where we should be. We need the balance we always need.”
“I don’t know if we’re similar [to Club Brugge] or not. I do know that they’ve always played well whenever we’ve faced each other, whether there or at home.”
Image via Football España.
‘Consistency issues due to calendar’ – Koke Resurreccion
Before Simeone appeared, captain Koke Resurreccion spoke to the media. He gave little away about their strategy for the second leg.
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“In the first leg we played a great first half, then they equalised, and then again after going 2-3 down, when they had nothing to lose. We need to be strong both offensively and defensively; when we concede few goals we achieve great things.”
One of the frustrations of the Metropolitano has been the inconsistency of Atletico, something that Koke put down to the heavy calendar Los Colchoneros are dealing with.
“We have increasingly larger squads and rotations. But the players’ level drops because they can’t maintain peak performance for so many matches. It’s not just the physical aspect, it’s also the mental one. But until we all sit down together and say ‘enough is enough,’ this will continue to happen with the schedule.”
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