Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v Sevilla - Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - December 8, 2024 Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone before the match REUTERS/Ana Beltran/File Photo
MADRID (Reuters) - Atletico Madrid's nine-game winning streak in all competitions has been fuelled by the players competing for their places, manager Diego Simeone said on Tuesday.
Following back-to-back Champions League victories at Paris St Germain and Sparta Prague, Atletico will host winless Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday and Simeone urged his players to make the most of the chances they get so they can keep their great momentum going.
"We look at every game and try to visualise what is best for the team moving forward," Simeone told a press conference on Tuesday.
"If we look at the number of minutes for each player, most of our squad have had a good amount of playing time. I urge the players to keep grinding, to keep working... The work can be seen in Giuliano Simeone, Javi Galan, Clement Lenglet... who had not started the season playing much.
"I have no commitment to anyone. The players' form is sometimes lower, sometimes higher... We have a deeper squad this season and we have to go along with what you are seeing. Those who are playing lately are doing very well.
"The teams grow as the season goes on. It's normal for a team to grow, there are a lot of games and we are asked to be at our best in every game and it's not easy."
Atletico had a busy transfer window last summer with the blockbuster signing of Argentina forward Julian Alvarez from Manchester City one of several statement additions that included Conor Gallagher, Robin Le Normand, Lenglet and Alexander Sorloth.
Following a slow start to the season when they had a series of lacklustre performances that included a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Benfica, Atletico have been on a six-week winning run that has put them in a good position in the Champions League and LaLiga.
With a game in hand, they are third in the LaLiga standings on 35 points, three behind leaders Barcelona, while they were 15th in the revamped 36-team Champions League table before Tuesday's matches, one point off the top-eight spots which secure direct qualification to the Round-of-16.
"We don't look ahead, thinking about titles and accomplishments. That's the media's job, we think game-by-game, there is no other way to prepare yourself," Simeone said.
"We are going to be judged for the match against Slovan, a clash that we will have to play with only 68 hours between games and nobody cares.
"We need to be smart and play an intelligent game, seizing the opportunities that are presented to us. Let's hope we can play a good game and continue in the line we are in."
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Toby Davis)
