Diego Simeone analyzed Atlético Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in a press conference after José Mourinho criticized the refereeing following the match.
Simeone responded to Mourinho’s comments by stressing that coaches must be careful with what they say and respect everyone involved in the game: "We respect other coaches’ opinions. I understand that we’re in a privileged position and we have to be careful with what we say out of respect for everyone, the workers, everyone... When you cross the line of respect, no matter whether your name is Mourinho, Simeone or Pellegrini, you mustn’t cross that line."
Simeone then explained how he saw Atlético’s performance in the 2-1 win over Real Madrid, highlighting his team’s control of the match and their ability to limit Real Madrid’s dangerous transitions: "An intense match, which we controlled at all times. We stopped an opponent that has incredible transitions, we controlled almost all of those transitions. In the second half, their only dangerous moment apart from the goal came from a collision between Marcos Llorente and Romero. We looked for where we could hurt them, which was down the right, and that led to the penalty and the goal. We can’t overlook the team’s performance."
Simeone also addressed the controversial incidents from the match, including the challenge involving Cuti Romero, which had been discussed by Mourinho: "I usually don’t give an opinion. He said the Cuti challenge wasn’t a red card, but if we want to focus on that and not on the match, fine, it’s a game and let’s all play. We won the match, there’s not much more to say."
Asked whether the better team had won the game, Simeone refused to turn his answer into a headline and instead insisted that the focus should remain on the match Atlético had played:
"You’re looking for a headline. I don’t need that headline. Let’s talk about the match we played, not the game they want us to play."