Atletico coach Diego Pablo Simeone spoke ahead of the clash against RB Leipzig and praised the new Champions League format. “It’s more entertaining for people because everyone needs to win. Draws are good, but to a certain extent,” he reflected.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone explained on Wednesday that his team has to “rise to the occasion” and demand “more” in the new Champions League season, in which they have to “win” because, he predicted, the top eight in the league phase will be from 20 points upwards.
His team is participating for the 12th season in a row in this tournament. “For the Atletico Madrid fans and for the club it has been a huge giant step, every day more, we have to put ourselves at the height and demand more from ourselves, knowing the difficulties that this competition has and not getting out of the game by game,” he warned.
“It is always an illusion to return to compete in the Champions League. I imagine a stadium eager to see this competition, to see their team again, in an important championship and hopefully we can all transmit from below all the energy and enthusiasm that we are telling them,” he said at the press conference on Wednesday at the Civitas Metropolitano stadium, before facing RB Leipzig on Thursday.
The coach sees “everything positive” in the change of format. “We have to win. You have to earn points. It doesn’t matter who you play. There are no numbers that can help you in the group, with two draws and winning four games you can go through. You have to win. It is clear that the top 8 in this list will be from 20 points up, we have already seen how the strong teams started and it invites us all to go for a win,” said the coach.
“I watched Liverpool-Milan, I liked it a lot. A very dynamic match, entertaining. We can see that it is a more entertaining Champions League for the fans, because all teams need to win. The draws are good for you, but to a certain extent to be among the top 8 and we will have to compete, because all the teams are complex, any opponent has grown a lot and generates difficulties”, he concluded.
