Speaking after a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain to start Atlético Madrid’s Club World Cup campaign, head coach Diego Simeone seemed to point to resources as the cause for the heavy loss in the Colchoneros’ opening fixture.
When asked about his preference for the struggling Antoine Griezmann over Alexander Sørloth to start, Simeone responded “we played Julián (Alvarez) as a number nine, look for a conflicting opinion, I don’t care,” before insisting that “Sørloth had the chance to make it 2-1, and it wasn’t a goal.”
However, the most intriguing part of his post-match availability was his comment about PSG’s commitment to building a Champions League winner — not coincidentally, this is the one trophy El Cholo has not won as Atlético coach.
“PSG are a great team. Luis (Enrique) came up with the idea that he needed help on the left wing, and in January, they gave him 70 million euros for (Khvicha) Kvaratskhelia. Then you have to make them play together, and they are a team that has always done that.”
Simeone on what went wrong
“In the first half, we didn’t play the way we should have played. They played a great game, they played the game that makes them feel confident. We couldn’t link up and attack in the way we imagined. The time we were able to do so, Griezmann didn’t score and they made it 2-0.
“In the second half, Koke gave us a way to get out of the press, and the intensity of our opponents, which is very good. We cut it back to 2-1 and the referee decided to disallow that goal, and it became more complicated. Lenglet’s sending off made it more complicated. They have a very young team and they rounded off the result in a great way.”
Simeone on the positives
“The intention and commitment I saw from a team that wanted to do it all the time, but they couldn’t. It’s not that we weren’t looking for it, PSG were better, superior, they took the ball away from us, they didn’t let us get out of pressure. I see that the team competed, despite the tough defeat. We have to get good results in these next two matches.”
1 - Atlético de Madrid have conceded four goals, received a red card, and conceded a penalty in a single game in all competitions for the first time under Diego Pablo Simeone. Pain. pic.twitter.com/NEEiyzx766
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) June 15, 2025
Simeone on the referee
“After 14 years I don’t talk about referees any more. I’ve had enough, I’m tired of it.”
Simeone on the high temperature
“In August it’s the same heat, I don’t blame that. The heat was the same for both of us, they played better than us, they have a passing game with very young players and wingers who unbalance the defense. They have a great style of play, they won the Champions League, the league, the cup.”
Simeone on moving on
“The defeat and the goal difference was tough, difficult and it forces us to look ahead. From now on I’m focused on the game we have on the 19th and we’ll focus our energy on competing in the best way and knowing that there can be competition along the way and we had it.”
Simeone on if he’s worried about the left flank
“No, we are doing very well.”
Simeone on the disallowed goal
“It bores me to talk about repetitive issues. Otherwise, we always seem like victims, and I don’t feel like a victim of anything. We played against a great opponent who were better than us.”
Simeone on what was missing
“Having the ball more, having more personality. We couldn’t win the ball back, and we didn’t have the patience to get them into situations to defend. If the other team attacks well, presses, takes the ball away from you and doesn’t let you progress, you go where you’re going. We could have equalised with Griezmann’s goal, the goalkeeper saved it and we were left with this difficult situation. A 4-0 defeat is very negative, but now we depend on ourselves.”