Diego Simeone Praises Impact of Substitutes as Atletico Madrid Overcome Girona in Nervy Affair
Diego Simeone was pleased with his side's efforts in their 2-0 home win over Girona on Tuesday night, as his Atletico Madrid team continue to hunt down leaders Barcelona in their pursuit of the La Liga title.
Atleti went into this game off the back of an emphatic 4-0 victory away to Alaves at the weekend, and Simeone fielded what looked to be his strongest available team to face Girona. However, La Liga's second-placed club struggled to break down the resolute away side.
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It wasn't until the introduction of second half substitutes Vitolo and Angel Correa that the home team really turned the screw and Simeone highlighted the influence of these players in his post-match press conference.
As quoted by Atleti's official website, Simeone told reporters: "After the break we didn't play as well, but I think our changes revitalised us.
"With Correa and Vitolo, with Saul playing deeper, I think that that brought us closer to the goal".
It took until the 75th minute for Los Rojiblancos to have the ball in the back of the net, although Diego Godin's header was initially ruled out for offside. However, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was awarded and set the home team on their way to victory.
They were made to wait, but Simeone credited his team's patience in their hard-fought victory, as he continued: "They tried to counter attack and they waited for us to make a mistake.
"We tried to find the goal despite the limited spaces that we found. In the end we found it through Godin and Griezmann".
The Madrid side's persistence proved to be even more crucial, as later on Tuesday evening Barcelona dropped points away to Villarreal in an incredible 4-4 draw. Of course it could have been better for the title chasers, as Barça entered the 90th minute of that game 4-2 down, only to rescue a point thanks to two late goals.
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Nevertheless, Atleti have now reduced the gap at the top of the table to eight points and have the opportunity to cut this to just five on Saturday night as they travel to Camp Nou in a tasty looking fixture between La Liga's top two sides.
