Simeone: Girona Copa del Rey tie still open

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone praised Girona and said the Copa del Rey tie was still open after their 1-1 draw in the first leg.

Antoine Griezmann’s ninth-minute opener was cancelled out by Anthony Lozano as Atletico were held away from home to open the last-16 tie on Wednesday.

While his side will host the second leg at the Wanda Metropolitano next week, Simeone feels the tie is still 50-50.

“Girona are a strong side who are doing things well. In Spanish football, every team you face makes things difficult for you,” he told a news conference.

“The tie is open, with a 50 per cent chance for both sides. We’ll see what happens next week.”

The result was enough to extend Atletico’s unbeaten run to 15 matches, while Simeone has played more competitive games without a win against Girona (four draws) than any other side as coach of the Rojiblancos.

 93′ | 1-1 |  The game ends at Montilivi! All to play for at the Wanda @Metropolitano!#AúpaAtleti #CopaDelRey #GironaAtleti pic.twitter.com/6z1j78hM8y

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) January 9, 2019

Simeone felt Atletico, who host Levante in LaLiga on Sunday, improved in the second half at the Estadi Montilivi.

“It was a dynamic match between Girona, who tried to hurt us on the break, and us,” he said.

“We tried to play in their half of the pitch. We played well in the second half.”