Simeone not upset over missed points
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone knows his side blew a chance to close in on Barcelona after being held to a draw by Malaga but he was happy with the team's performance.
By FOX Sports Staff
Los Rojiblancos dominated Saturday's encounter between the two sides but could not breach Willy Caballero's goal at La Rosaleda Stadium. It means that they could not capitalise on Barcelona's loss to Real Madrid a day earlier and they are currently a massive 11 points behind the La Liga leaders.
However, the Argentinean was not keen to focus on this aspect of the result as he was impressed with the manner in which Malaga were dominated within their own stadium. Last season, Atletico finished one place behind the Andalusians in fifth place but the fortunes of the two clubs have been dramatically different this year.
The side from the capital peppered Caballero's goal with shots and even had the chance to win the game at the death with a Mario Suarez effort.
"I'm happy with the match. Having played four days ago an important match [against Sevilla], with a lot of pressure and a great psychological strain, the team responded within 90 minutes exactly what we need to do to stay in the top two in the league," he told reporters in the post-match press conference.
"The team held nothing back, and dominated the match. We just missed the final pass needed to score a goal and finish the game."
Despite the 14 points separating the two teams, Simeone praised the opponents as he feels they have done a good job this season. Malaga are currently in fourth place and are facing stern competition from the likes of Valencia, Real Sociedad and Real Betis who are close behind in the table.
"For me, Malaga is a good team," he continued.
"Malaga have great players. They are in the Champions League and progressed to the round of 16, had a good cup run and are in fourth place.
"They are a great team but today [Sunday] Atletico had the better game. We could not win but we played well in the game."