Diego Simeone: “The stage of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is over, now it is more even”

For many years, Barcelona and Real Madrid were the undisputed owners of LaLiga, but with the departure of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the most representative and winning teams in Spain are now rivals who can be competed much more than before.

Not only the local titles were distributed, but also some Champions League, leaving the rest of the teams in the background and with the occasional trophy that was obtained by Atlético de Madrid or Sevilla, although the latter in the Europa League.

In recent seasons the squads have weakened and Diego Simeone acknowledged it at a press conference, when he was asked about the current level of LaLiga: “The Barcelona stage of Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar or Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo at Real Madrid has passed and now we are all more balanced. The League is as they see it, very competitive for everyone”.

Regarding the victory in the last minutes in the duel on Saturday, November 21, Diego indicated: “We did what we wanted. We were looking to shoot centers, generate a bad clearance, try to connect to be able to enter where there is a well-enclosed cage and it is not easy. Osasuna did well and we looked for what we thought could hurt”.

The goal was made by Felipe Augusto, who highlighted: “It was important for the team, for him and for his confidence. He has played quite a bit since he arrived. It makes me very happy for him. He anticipated making a truly great goal”.

Atlético de Madrid’s next match will be at home against Milan for the Champions League. The ‘Colchoneros’ are obliged to win so as not to compromise their classification to the round of 16. They are in third place, behind Liverpool and Porto.