Atletico Madrid manager
Diego Simeone insists they have not sparked the La Liga title race back
into life despite closing the gap on leaders Barcelona to nine points
this past weekend.
Barcelona
dropped their first points since December 2 when they were held to a
1-1 draw against local rivals Espanyol and Atletico Madrid took
advantage by beating third-placed Valencia on Sunday night.
Angel Correa's long-range strike in the second half was enough to settle a close encounter at the Wanda Metropolitano and move his side two points closer to the runaway leaders.
But
following the final whistle, Simeone was adamant that Barcelona will
need to drop more points before he even starts to consider the prospect
of delivering their first La Liga title since 2014.
'We are still a long way from that, we are focused on growing as a team,' Simeone told reporters after the match.
'I will be leaving the stadium tonight thinking about the hard work of my players, how they went about their jobs and their commitment - as a coach, that gives you a lot of satisfaction.'
While
the 1-0 victory was a typically tight affair, Simeone was left unhappy
after his team were not awarded a penalty when Valencia goalkeeper Neto
clashed with his defender Diego Godin in the box.
The horrific incident left Godin missing several teeth and Simeone joked that one of his players would have to be 'killed' for the referee to blow his whistle.
'They will have to kill us for us to be awarded a penalty, if that was not one for Godin,' the Argentine continued.
'I am not sure on the diagnosis but the doctor will know more tomorrow. It is not easy to make so many changes in defence but our reinforcements did very well.'
Angel Correa's long-range strike in the second half was enough to settle a close encounter at the Wanda Metropolitano and move his side two points closer to the runaway leaders.
'We are still a long way from that, we are focused on growing as a team,' Simeone told reporters after the match.
'I will be leaving the stadium tonight thinking about the hard work of my players, how they went about their jobs and their commitment - as a coach, that gives you a lot of satisfaction.'
The horrific incident left Godin missing several teeth and Simeone joked that one of his players would have to be 'killed' for the referee to blow his whistle.
'They will have to kill us for us to be awarded a penalty, if that was not one for Godin,' the Argentine continued.
'I am not sure on the diagnosis but the doctor will know more tomorrow. It is not easy to make so many changes in defence but our reinforcements did very well.'
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