Diego Simeone is apprehensive about opponent PSV. The Atlético Madrid coach said so during the press conference ahead of the encounter, Tuesday night at the Philips Stadium.
'Un equipo difícil y rápido'
According to Simeone, PSV is a "good, difficult team that handles good passing and has a fast counter." In addition, the Argentine coach knows that the Philips Stadium will be filled to the brim with mostly PSV fans, but that is not necessarily a disadvantage for his team: "This is a difficult match, and the atmosphere in the stadium here is very good. The conditions will be ideal tomorrow."
Poor form
Atlético already lost four points in its first two games in La Liga, but was finally able to cheer last weekend when Celta de Vigo was defeated 4-0. Simeone is aware of this: "We know that as a team we should be able to win, but at the moment we are working on confidence because of that poor performance." Spanish midfielder Koke adds, "Tomorrow we play an important match. Of course we would like to win it, but if we can't we have other matches to put it right."
[Text continues below photo]
Koke, like Simeone, looked ahead to the duel
Jeroen Zoet
One Atlético problem is that the team has difficulty scoring. Last season, Atlético missed a number of imposed chances in Eindhoven. According to Simeone, his team is working hard on that: "Everyone has to be able to score, whether you are right back or striker." Koke remembers Jeroen Zoet: "We had chances, but the goalkeeper was great. This year we want to improve our finishing."