MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone enjoys watching Manchester City play and knows his team must step up their game to beat them in the Champions League quarter-finals.
“It’s a joy to watch how Man City play,” the Argentine told a news conference on Monday on the eve of the first leg against Pep Guardiola’s side.
“What I like about teams like Man City is the effort they put on trying to recover the ball and maintain possession. It’s nice to see them play.
“What drives me the most is seeing players of that quality always working and active in their fight for every ball. It’s what all coaches want.”
Simeone is not concerned about Atletico playing the first leg away and hosting the decisive clash at home in front of their fans because “the game is too long and first we need to make sure we do what we’re supposed to do at Manchester.”
He also does not see an advantage in facing a Premier League team again after beating Manchester United in the last 16.
“United had different characteristics compared to City,” Simeone said. “City are a more positional team and dominate all phases of the game. We must play better and improve everything we did two weeks ago against United to have a chance.”
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
