"The pressure is normal, but we have to keep calm"

Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid coach, explained this Sunday, after the draw against Espanyol (1-1), that "at least", his team did not lose a match that looked "ugly" with the 0-1 disadvantage, remarked his gratitude "for life" to the fans of the Madrid side and considered that "Joao Felix's performanceshowed everything" what the coaching staff wants from him. 

"Joao's performance again, like against Cadiz, showed everything we want from him. It's a shame he won't be here because of his yellow card against Mallorca, but there are also positive things to highlight. Llorente came back, Lemar came back and we have to keep working," he said at the press conference after the game at the Metropolitano.

"After Oporto, the Champions League and Europe came to an end, but once again it's a new tournament, which is what we've been doing in La Liga, where I don't think we're doing badly. This afternoon we could have won and against Rayo and Cadiz, but we didn't win, of course, although we did have merit based on the dangerous situations they generated. We have to be sure of what we believe in and hope that at some point this will break", he assured.

"At least we didn't lose, which is not a good thing, we wanted to win, but the game was already looking ugly with the result against us. We could have won it. We are left with this draw in a league in which we need to be in the top four and we will work for it," added the coach. 

"The important thing is that we win, that people are once again happy to feel identified with the team. We are the ones who have to move and generate that positive atmosphere. It is a challenge that we also have as a team to be good with our fans, who are undoubtedly a very important part of everything that surrounds the team," Simeone concluded.