Simeone enjoys watching Manchester City

Diego Simeone is a big fan of the way Manchester City play football. That said the Argentine coach of Atlético Madrid, a day before the two teams face each other in Manchester in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

“It’s a joy to watch Manchester City play,” said Simeone. “What I especially like about teams like this is the effort they put in to get the ball back quickly.”

Atlético Madrid have had good memories of English clubs in recent years in the knockout phase. In the eighth finals, the Spaniards settled with Manchester United last month and two years ago Atlético eliminated Liverpool in the eighth finals.

Simeone attaches little value to those results. “United is a very different team than City,” he said. “City is a more positional team and they master all facets of football. We will have to be better at everything than against Manchester United two weeks ago to have a chance.”