'Talk is cheap', says Diego Simeone following criticism of his defensive Atletico Madrid tactics

Planet Sport writer
12 April 2022

Diego Simeone launched a staunch defence of his tactics, Apr2022

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone faced criticism over his side's performance in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester City.

Manchester City take a 1-0 lead to Madrid this Wednesday after Kevin De Bruyne's 70th-minute strike at the Etihad broke the deadlock in the first leg.

However, while City's lead is slender, they dominated almost every part of the game during the first leg against Atletico Madrid, with Diego Simeone's side preferring to sit back and soak up pressure instead of opening up and trying to attack.

As a result, Atletico didn't manage a single shot on Manchester City's goal, while Pep Guardiola's side managed 15.

But with Atletico still in contention to go through to the semi-finals, Simeone has fired back at his critics this week, suggesting it's unfair to judge a manager's tactics without stepping into his shoes.

For the first time under Diego Simeone, Atlético had ZERO shots in a game 😬 pic.twitter.com/oKrqkxPz7h
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 5, 2022

The 51-year-old Argentine said, "I've been a coach since 2005-06 and I've never talked down to a colleague of mine or talked badly.

"I always try to get in the other coaches' shoes and there's different ways of expressing what you think and what you believe in every game.

"When you don't show appreciation for a colleague, I don't really share that, but there are opinions of every journalist, every ex-player and people who haven't played the game for a while, and they want to say a different thing.

"Like my dad said, 'The fish dies by the mouth'. It's a saying.

"Talk is cheap, talk is free and everybody can talk. We all have our opinions but I don't talk badly of colleagues. I always respect my fellow coaches."

With Atletico now needing to score to have a chance to go through, many are anticipating that Simeone will instruct his side to be more attacking and brave with the ball.

In the mood for Madrid! 🇪🇸🔜#ManCity | #UCL pic.twitter.com/yhDtpnrVjK
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 12, 2022

However, when questioned about his approach to the game on Tuesday, Simeone insisted that his side will continue to play in a similar style.

"We are playing a team that plays excellent football - dynamic, great in possession, fast transitions.

"They make the most of every little space they find but we have the excitement and eagerness and whatever we can generate.

"Obviously excitement alone will not do, we will need to prove something else on the pitch to make the most of our style, but we will try to play.

"We are not going to go too far from what we normally do. We will go for the perfect timing to try to create what we can do. Anything can happen on the pitch."

A win for Manchester City will see them reach the Champions League semi-finals in consecutive seasons, after they went all the way to the final last year.

But first they'll have to overcome a stubborn and well-organised Atleti side, with kick-off at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium scheduled for 20:00 BST on Wednesday evening.