Diego Simeone was almost – but not quite – speechless in his admiration for his Atletico Madrid team after they maintained their position at the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday.
The game came in the middle of Atletico’s Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona, which is level at 1-1 after last week’s first leg, setting up a mouth-watering return at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday.
Atletico’s task against Villarreal was made harder by the absence of key players Diego Costa, Arda Turan and Gabi, but an early headed goal from Raul Garcia proved to be the winner as Los Rojiblancos superb defence did the rest to secure the points.
“We’ve been making a huge effort, incredibly so, and I can’t find the words to keep congratulating the players’ effort,” a delighted Simeone said after the game.
“At the end we were tired, which is normal. The strength and energy we had on previous occasions were not there, but the team was level-headed, and that made up for the lack of energy.”
The victory allowed Atletico to maintain their one-point lead over Barca at the top of the table with just six games remaining, but Simeone is still refusing to talk up his team’s title chances. “I can’t envisage any easy games, seeing what’s ahead of us,” he said. “Getafe, Elche and Malaga with their needs [against relegation], Valencia and Levante. And you know about the last one [at Barcelona].”
Further across the Spanish capital city, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti was delighted that his team was able to overcome the absence of injured Cristiano Ronaldo and keep their title hopes alive with a 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad.
The scoreline flattered Ancelotti’s team, who had to survive a number of close calls in the first half before an opener from former Sociedad star Asier Illarramendi sent Madrid on their way to victory.
But Los Blancos were totally dominant in the second period, and a delighted Ancelotti said: “I’m very proud to manage this team.
“I have players who like to fight and we’re going to fight until the last match. I’m pleased because it wasn’t easy and the players had very good intensity levels in the second half.
It was Madrid’s third consecutive clean sheet, and Ancelotti was pleased with the defensive efforts, noting: “The players worked well defensively. We avoided Real Sociedad’s biggest quality, which is depth. We were very focussed.”
Ronaldo’s absence allowed Gareth Bale to switch to the left wing, and the Welshman responded by giving a good performance including an excellent second goal.
Ancelotti acknowledged that Bale might prefer to play more regularly on the left wing, saying: “With Bale on the left wing we have more open field to attack and he feels comfortable. He often switches positions with Cristiano and it’s not a problem. We’re fortunate to have them.”
