Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 7y

'Fantastic' Atletico Madrid could have scored even more - Simeone

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said his team had played some "fantastic" football and "could have scored even more" in their 4-2 Champions League round-of-16 first-leg win at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night.

A helter-skelter game saw Atletico 2-0 up by half-time thanks to a 20-yard curler from Saul Niguez and an Antoine Griezmann finish from an unselfish Kevin Gameiro assist.

The drama continued after the break with Bayer forward Karim Bellarabi quickly grabbing one back, Gameiro winning and netting a penalty, and a mistake from visiting goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya leading to a Stefan Savic own-goal.

Bayer striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez then saw a shot cleared off the line before Atletico substitute Fernando Torres' late header put Atletico in control of the tie ahead of the return game at the Calderon on March 15.

Speaking on BeIn Sports after the match, the Colchoneros coach said that his team had known how to manage the game and could have scored even more.

"It's 21 years since Atletico had scored four goals away from home in the Champions League," Simeone said. "The way we interpreted play in first half was fantastic -- we did what we knew would damage them.

"The quick goal after half-time brought them back into it, they grew from there, the atmosphere too, and they have some good players. We knew that any counter-attack could be dangerous, and the result could have been even better for us. But all our strikers scored so we have to be happy."

Simeone's side are now big favourites to progress to the quarterfinals for a fourth-consecutive year, but the Argentine said his team could not get too confident at this point.

"The game will be difficult, we cannot be too confident," he said. "We must respect them as we know that in this competition it can always get complicated. Leverkusen will have nothing to lose. We must be careful."

Gameiro had been razor sharp throughout, providing a goal and assist, and looked upset on being replaced by midfielder Thomas Partey with 20 minutes remaining. Simeone said he hoped the former Sevilla attacker continued his current form, while saying the decision had been tactical and the reaction expected.

"Kevin played a good game in general, maybe one of his best games for us," he said. "I hope he can continue like this. He played very well in Gijon, and today, we expect similar from him from now on. Bayer were flying after they got the second unexpected goal. It would have been the same with [Diego] Maradona or [Leo] Messi. The players should get angry, it makes me happier."

Other Substitutes Torres and Angel Correa had also worked well to take advantage when the game was stretched late on, said Simeone.

"Torres' goal was important, necessary for us," he said. "We needed fresh people so we made the changes to have legs on the break. He and Correa have a very good understanding too. It all came off as we hoped for."

^ Back to Top ^