Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone expects his side to take confidence from its last-gasp 2-1 Champions League win at Paris St Germain when it travels to face Mallorca in La Liga on Sunday.
After a tough October in which Atletico secured one victory in five matches in all competitions, including consecutive Champions League losses, it has won its last three games.
“The hardest thing in football is to maintain consistency and we did it by winning a Copa del Rey match at Vic, in La Liga against Las Palmas and at PSG on Wednesday. We are working on that and I hope we can build up momentum,” Simeone told a press conference on Saturday.
“We’re going to face an opponent who plays very well, who are brave, who have a lot of tools, who are very strong at home and we’ll try to take the game where I think we have to take it.”
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Simeone said criticism of his side’s defensive approach did not bother him.
“We can’t always perform at the highest level like we want, we hope to do so, but sometimes we can’t respond to what we demand of ourselves,” he added.
“There is an overall idea that the team competes as a unit. Against PSG it was defending with a lower block and the most important thing is that the team feels identified with what we do.
“To represent Atletico, to wear this shirt is a great motivation, no matter who you play against. I don’t move from that line.
“Mallorca are a brave team, they have good aerial play, and they know how to counter-attack. They are doing well in La Liga. They concede few goals, it will be a difficult match.”
Atletico is third in the La Liga standings on 23 points, one behind Real Madrid and 10 points adrift of leader Barcelona. Mallorca is eighth on 18 points.
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