Atletico Madrid being chased by 'two monsters', says Simeone

After Atletico Madrid dropped precious points, Simeone opened on the club’s hopes of winning La Liga amid the stiff competition.

Diego Simeone has urged Atletico Madrid to remain calm with ‘two monsters’ in Barcelona and Real Madrid breathing down their necks in the league title battle.

The league leaders drew 0-0 in Saturday’s game against fellow Madrid side Getafe to leave them six points above second-placed Real Madrid, while Barcelona sit a further point behind in third but with a game in hand.

The stalemate in Madrid means Atletico have won only three of their last eight league games (D4 L1). And the recent decline hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Simeone wary of the club’s title rivals recovering ground.

“I leave here knowing the team is playing well. We have to be calmer,” said the Atletico boss as quoted on the Mail.

“We know that Real Madrid and Barcelona aren’t going to lose until the end of the season.

“The nerves aren’t going away and we just have to get on with it.”

The 10-time Spanish champions have led La Liga for most of the campaign, but the pressure appears to have sunk in now as the season’s end approaches.

“It’s normal,” said Simeone. “We’ve been top for almost the whole season. There are still 11 games left to go.

“People were saying Barcelona were bad and look what they did in Paris. They have a new president and excitement is growing.

“Real Madrid always take points from their games. We have our job at hand as we continue down our path. We have two monsters below us that want to be where we are.”