Diego Simeone has warned his team that they must forget about the Champions League and concentrate on a strong end to La Liga
Diego Simeone says Atletico Madrid must forget about their crucial Champions League clash with Real Madrid and instead focus on Saturday's Liga meeting with relegation-threatened Deportivo.
The Rojiblancos drew 0-0 in their quarter-final first leg derby at the Vicente Calderon on Tuesday, with the sides meeting in the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu next week.
However, Simeone says that his players cannot afford to lose sight of their primary goal, which is qualifying automatically for next season's Champions League through the Primera Division.
"The hardest thing is finishing third," the Argentine told reporters on Friday. "We have to think about playing a good match tomorrow and be strong against a rival that needs points.
"We are only thinking about tomorrow's match. Tomorrow's is a classic game against a team that is fighting to stay up and will demand that we are at our best level.
"This fixture is key because it's the next one and because we need to keep competing with Valencia and Sevilla [for third]."
Indeed, Atleti are just one point ahead of Los Che and four clear of Unai Emery's men.
"It is a hard fight," Simeone said of the battle for third. "Sevilla have great players, and Valencia do not have European football [to distract them].
"We cannot lower our guard because the competition will be tough between the three sides."
The Rojiblancos drew 0-0 in their quarter-final first leg derby at the Vicente Calderon on Tuesday, with the sides meeting in the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu next week.
However, Simeone says that his players cannot afford to lose sight of their primary goal, which is qualifying automatically for next season's Champions League through the Primera Division.
"The hardest thing is finishing third," the Argentine told reporters on Friday. "We have to think about playing a good match tomorrow and be strong against a rival that needs points.
"We are only thinking about tomorrow's match. Tomorrow's is a classic game against a team that is fighting to stay up and will demand that we are at our best level.
"This fixture is key because it's the next one and because we need to keep competing with Valencia and Sevilla [for third]."
Indeed, Atleti are just one point ahead of Los Che and four clear of Unai Emery's men.
"It is a hard fight," Simeone said of the battle for third. "Sevilla have great players, and Valencia do not have European football [to distract them].
"We cannot lower our guard because the competition will be tough between the three sides."
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