Simeone claims underdog tag for Super Cup

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone claims Chelsea will go into the sides’ Super Cup clash on Friday as overwhelming favourites.

The former Argentina international will oversee his Europa League-winning side but said Chelsea’s huge budget and Champions League crown clearly justifies the Premier League side as the ones to beat.

“Finals are there to be won, that goes without saying … but Chelsea are of course the clear favourites, with a much bigger budget,” Simeone said.

“They’ve won Champions League of course, and on paper they are better. We want to be competitive but during the game anything can happen.”

The 42-year-old refused to make comparisons between his hat-trick hero Falcao (against Athletic Bilbao) and Chelsea marksman Fernando Torres for the Monaco clash, but admitted the Colombian would could make the difference.

“Well I’m not going to make comparisons between Falcao and Torres,” he said.

“I would rather talk about our side and our players – we have a great squad and Falcao is great player in the squad and he is still improving.

“I’m convinced that if Falcao keeps growing as a player, then we can enjoy his services for a long time.”

Falcao promised a ‘great show’ but fell in line with his manager in admitting the depth of Chelsea’s talent.

“It is not just their defence that is one of best on the continent, they attack and defend as a unit,” Falcao said.

“Chelsea have a very strong squad, but we know we are prepared. We’re certainly ready to play them. We want to put on a great show.”