Simeone delighted to reach Copa del Rey final

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was delighted with his team’s attitude after reaching the Copa del Rey final with a 2-2 draw at Sevilla.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was delighted with his team’s attitude after reaching the Copa del Rey final with a 2-2 draw at Sevilla.

Goals from Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao appeared to have Atletico cruising into the decider after their 2-1 win over Sevilla in the first leg of their semi-final.

Jesus Navas and Ivan Rakitic pulled two back for Sevilla, but Simeone’s men held on to take a 4-3 aggregate win.

“We had great ambition from the beginning to win the game and we responded very well in the first steps of the game until the goal of Diego Costa,” Simeone said.

“After that arrived the goal of Falcao and after that the game was fine.

“Sevilla tried everything they could on the pitch, they have tried everything after our second goal and they put us under pressure. They played with intensity and it was a great battle.”

Atletico’s victory saw them into the final on May 18, when they will face arch rivals Real Madrid.

It shapes as a huge encounter with both Madrid clubs trailing La Liga leaders Barcelona by a long way.

Simeone said his side would enjoy reaching the decider before turning their attention to a league meeting with Malaga on Sunday.

“Today we are going to enjoy qualifying for the final. After that we are going to start to think about Malaga. They are very difficult opponents who play very well,” he said.

“It is a rival very close for us, so we will have to recover for that game. If we have to talk about the final, now we are just happy because once again Atletico de Madrid is in a big final.”