Simeone defends set-piece goals

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is baffled by the ongoing scrutiny surrounding his side’s ability from set-pieces.

The La Liga champions are set-piece specialists having scored 11 of their 15 league goals from either corners or free-kicks after Sunday’s narrow 1-0 win at 10-man Getafe.

Croatia international Mario Mandzukic was the beneficiary of a corner four minutes before the break, scrambling the ball over the line from close range.

And Simeone was once again forced to defend Atletico’s prolific ability from set-pieces.

“It happened again today. It’s a tool in football,” Simeone told reporters post-game.

“It seems like it’s a bad thing to score goals like this.

“It’s normal to have these types of options. After playing three games this week, it’s not an easy thing to score eight goals and keep three clean sheets.”

The win capped a successful week for Atletico, having accounted for Espanyol 2-0 last Saturday and trounced Malmo 5-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

Atletico are now just two points adrift of leading duo Barcelona and Sevilla after nine rounds.

“It was a good game in the first half, well controlled, until the sending off. But in the final 30 minutes, Getafe’s bravery helped them play a very good game,” said the Argentine boss.

“We sat back and struggled. It’s also an added bonus to win all three games this week.

“We played well, save for the final 30 minutes in which we had to suppress the rebellion of Getafe. We live day by day and this was a very important result in regard to the week we’ve had.”