Simeone repeats his mantra: 'We're still under construction'

Nacho Donado brings the numbers — second-best defence in the league, Grimaldo and Baena the top scorers in their positions — while Rubén Uría jokes about who coined the 'under construction' tag. The verdict: Simeone is sending a message to his own dressing room.

Simeone had no interest in boasting about a provisional spot at the top in his press conference after the 2-0 win away at Levante. Instead, he insisted that the team is still working through its processes: "Being top is just a moment, the league is very long, and we know the road we have to travel. Game by game, but with humility about the journey we know lies ahead. I still say we are under construction and we need to find the partnerships to keep going along these lines."

The discussion opens with the stats: Atlético have conceded the second-fewest goals in LaLiga, behind only Celta, and have the league's top-scoring defender, Grimaldo, and its top-scoring midfielder, Baena. Nacho Donado frames it as a project that has been building for some time and that this season has the players to match, even if some things are still missing.

Rubén Uría takes the chance for a joke: he isn't sure whether the 'under construction' line came from Simeone or from Nacho. The reply is swift: he started saying it first, 'but there's no copyright'. Uría adds that if Simeone heard it, he must have liked it.

On a more serious note, the presenter argues that this is a process that still needs to mature, and that Simeone uses the press room to speak to those inside the club: after a 2-0 win he makes a point of mentioning Lenormand, Sorloth and Lookman, even though they were not the protagonists, because he knows the season will be long. His sense is that Simeone is convinced that this year the team will be where it needs to be.