Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone praised his fringe players for their performances during their win over Elche in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Atletico easily reached the quarter-finals of the competition with a 4-0 win over fellow LaLiga side Elche, with Alexander Sorloth on target with a brace in the first half.
Rodrigo Riquelme and Julian Alvarez also got on the scoresheet, with Simeone able to rest some of his key players ahead of their LaLiga clash with Leganes.
Atletico's second series line-up was worthy of their victory, registering an expected goals total (xG) of 1.74 from their 14 shots, compared to their opponents' 0.51 from their 10 attempts.
“I'm happy with the effort of the boys who had less minutes, they worked well and I knew they would respond in kind,” Simeone said.
“The rival did very well, with many virtues in attack, but we were able to take them to the game we wanted and from there our speed created opportunities.
“We played a very good match, very seriously, and with our exclusion the match was over for good.”
On to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey! pic.twitter.com/25WyC3zi9M
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) January 15, 2025
While making several changes to his squad, Simeone stressed the importance of a strong performance in the Copa del Rey this season.
Simeone led Atletico to their tenth title in 2012/13, beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the final thanks to goals from Diego Costa and Miranda at the Bernabéu.
But since that victory 12 years ago, Atletico have failed to win the league. Since then it has reached three semi-finals but has not progressed any further.
Simeone also explained the reasoning behind his wholesale changes for Wednesday's match, which sees his side top the LaLiga table after 19 games into their season.
“I am careful about saving players' energy,” Simeone told TVE shortly after the match.
“We had to win to go through, and I relied on players who I thought could give us the opportunity to continue on the same footing as the team.
“I told them before the match that they worked very well and that is why we understood that the team that started gave us the opportunity to continue.
“We played modestly against a team that plays well in the second division.
“I felt good energy within the team. Fortunately, those players were able to show work, commitment, humility and perseverance and accept the place they have within the team.
“That will make us more competitive, and it will make it difficult for me to choose to move forward.”
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