Diego Simeone delighted as Atletico Madrid win UCL clash at Rostov

Posted Thursday, October 20, 2016 by ESPN

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said he was happy with the way his team had controlled the game in Wednesday's Champions League win at Rostov.

Atletico dominated throughout in Russia and Yannick Carrasco's close range finish just after the hour was enough for a third 1-0 win in three Champions League games.

That sees them on top of Group D, and coach Simeone told beIN Sports he was pleased with the performance.

"It was a tough game -- we knew the opponent, the way they play," he said.

"We had other chances to open the scoring but were not decisive enough in the final third. That made us a bit anxious, but in the second half we took one of the chances and settled the game."

Diego Simeone delighted as Atletico Madrid win UCL clash at Rostov
Yannick Carrasco scored Atletico Madrid's winner.

Atleti, beaten in two of the last three Champions League finals, could have won by more with Angel Correa, Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann all coming close.

But Simeone said: "They [Rostov] defended with eight players, close to their area.

"It is not easy to make chances against a defence so closed up. But we did that, which is the most important thing in football."

He added that he was pleased for Carrasco, who also scored the winner against Bayern Munich and hit a hat trick against Granada at the weekend.

"He must keep going like this -- he is in great form at the moment and can still improve an awful lot," he said.

Atletico could seal their progress to the knockout stage by beating Rostov at home in the reverse fixture in a fortnight, but Simeone said he was now thinking only about the next league fixture against Sevilla.

"We are relaxed, more than ever, with our feet on the ground," he added. "Now we need to think about Sevilla, which will be a very tough game."