Simeone: playing for Atlético is one thing, making history another

Asked how high his team can go after four consecutive victories, Simeone replied that they are still a work in progress and sent a message to his players: there is one level needed to play for Atleti and another to go down in its history.

At the press conference after the match in Vitoria, a journalist reminded Simeone that his side had won four in a row, three of them with plenty of possession and clear superiority, and asked how far the team still was from reaching its ceiling.

Simeone stuck to his usual line: they are a work in progress, finding players who are adapting to what Atlético de Madrid is and to what it takes to go down in its history. He also delivered a line the panel would later pick up on: there is one level needed to play for Atlético de Madrid, and another to go down in history. Hopefully, he added, they will be able to head down that path.

Simeone told the press room: "I liked the response of the 16, because they went for the game. With a draw it wouldn't have been any different, although winning is worth more," and added that he still believes "we are a work in progress, there are lads adapting to Atlético in order to go down in history. To play for Atlético there is one level, and to go down in history, another." Asked whether they had scraped the win, Simeone said: "I don't remember many games won comfortably here. That one with Suárez... today the team played looking to attack and it worked out."

Rubén Uría highlighted it as the biggest talking point of the press conference, a direct message to a squad full of new signings arriving eager to prove themselves.