‘I love where I am,’ says Simeone after 700th game in charge of Atletico

Diego Simeone said he is “calm and peaceful” at Atletico Madrid after his side defeated Deportivo Alaves 2-1 in LaLiga in his 700th match in charge of the club.

Atletico fell behind in the seventh minute through a penalty from Jon Guridi, but Antoine Griezmann equalized from the spot in the 76th minute.

The winner came through Alexander Sorloth in the 86th minute as Atletico fell four points behind leaders Barcelona.

Simeone, who has been in charge of Atletico since 2011, is the first coach to manage 700 games at the same LaLiga club.

“I live in the present, we are having a good time, the boys are working very responsibly,” Simeone told DAZN.

“I'm calm and peaceful. I like where I am and that's all.”

He led Atletico to LaLiga title wins in 2014 and 2021 and also helped Los Rojiblancos win two Europa League titles in 2012 and 2018.

The match against Alaves was Simeone's 492nd LaLiga game in charge, and the Argentine also has the third most appearances with one club in the Champions League (109), behind Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsène Wenger at Arsenal.

Simene pic.twitter.com/YjhdZUBKug

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) November 23, 2024

Atleti's fifth straight win in all competitions, thanks to a late battle on Saturday, was also the 54-year-old's 300th in Spain's top flight.

Javi Galan had been awarded a penalty for a handball in the penalty area and Guridi sent Jan Oblak the wrong way to put Atleti on the back foot.

“The first half started with a penalty that made it difficult for us to progress in the match. The opponent scored and sat back, the spaces became smaller,” Simeone said after the match.

“The team looked cold. We warmed up in the second half. The boys who came on did well, giving us speed in the final stretch and strength in the box.”

After registering an xG of just 0.25 in the first half, Atletico were a much improved team after the break, attempting four shots and finishing the half with an xG of 1.39 and three points.

“In the second half we created more chances and got the reward of an important victory,” said Simeone.

His side, who have the best defensive record in the league with just eight goals in 14 games, play Real Valladolid in their next LaLiga match on November 30.