Diego Pablo Simeone spoke at the press conference after Atlético de Madrid’s match against Deportivo.
Here is what the coach had to say...
The match
"A tough, difficult match. In the first half, we struggled to get into it. We couldn’t win the ball back and, when we had it, we couldn’t play the way we had envisioned. We went into the dressing room at half-time feeling uncomfortable with how things had gone. We changed a couple of things. The substitutions improved us, gave us more strength, more energy to press a little higher and play the game we wanted. The goal came, we had three big chances to score, and shots that went wide but were dangerous. We reached that stage of the game where a 1-0 lead is never enough. Sorloth came on to give us more power, but we couldn’t kill the game off and panic set in during the final minutes. A team knows the game is slipping away from them. Dépor could have equalised with the last move, but luck was on our side and the ball didn’t go in.
On another note, I really value it when people apologise. Saying sorry isn’t easy. When someone does it sincerely, from the heart, expressing what they feel, I value that. Julián is a wonderful person, humble, hardworking, he cares about his teammates and is respectful. I appreciate his apology because it reflects who he really is".
A necessary gesture?
"I’m not here to judge whether it was right or wrong. Life moves on, things happen. This happened, and it’s welcome".
What does Julián’s celebration and the fans’ reaction mean?
"Julián had a fantastic game. The fans celebrated the goal the way they celebrate any goal their team scores, whether it’s Julián or anyone else, and they appreciated Julián’s effort. He played at an extremely high level, just as he did in the Champions League. We’re seeing Julián at his best again. As I said recently, to achieve the goals we have as a club and that the fans want, we need this version of Julián".
Has there been a reconciliation with Julián behind closed doors?
"We’ve been calm about it because he’s a likeable lad. He’s always behaved well, and we know him very well. We know what he’s had to go through. He’s always behaved well with us, been respectful towards his teammates, the physios, the doctors, the press staff, our people, and given his best on the pitch. In that way, he’s getting back to where he was last season".
Is the Julián chapter closed?
"I’m very happy with today’s result. We won a game that was very tricky at the start. We had a great second half and Julián got on the scoresheet, just as he did in Stuttgart, earning us a point the other day and three today".
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.