Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has spoken of his respect for Bayer Leverkusen ahead of tonight's Champions League clash.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, he said: "We are going to find a team that deploys everything their coach asks: heart, enthusiasm, intention and a lot of intensity. They are probably one of the most intense rivals we have played in the Champions. Talent is important, but heart and the hopefulness have a bigger place in football."
🇩🇪 STATS. We will play our 39th match against a German rival in Europe: 18W, 6T and 14D #UCL #GoAtleti #B04Atleti pic.twitter.com/fFn3Ye8aYw
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) February 21, 2017
Speaking about his own team he said: "We continue on the line of finding our final game. We continue trying to improve our regularity and find the ways that make us feel better on the field. I think that the team has grown in this beginning of 2017 compared with the end of 2016.
"I consider that still we have a large margin of improvement and hopefully we can breach it, because that is where the quality leap lies," he added.
HISTORY. 📚 We have played against @Bayer04_en 4 times: 1W, 2T and 1D #UCL #GoAtleti #B04Atleti pic.twitter.com/Xyl8FoJWlo
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) February 21, 2017
