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Diego Simeone Praises 'Beautiful' Borussia Dortmund After Atletico Hammering
October 25, 2018
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone was full of praise for Borussia Dortmund after he watched his team demolished 4-0 by the German outfit in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Dortmund have enjoyed a remarkable start to the season and sit top of the Bundesliga. However, the zenith of their campaign so far came against the Spanish outfit on Wednesday, as they tore apart one of the strongest defences in football.
Afterward, Simeone said he expected better from his team but was also quick to laud Dortmund's work, per Football Espana:
"Congratulations to our opponents for their strength, counter-attacks and ability to take advantage of our losses. We managed the game at first, but then they scored an own goal. We started the second half as the better team, but then they scored their second goal. ...
"Hopefully they keep playing like this because it's so beautiful to watch. We can comment on the final outcome of the game, but the result is so heavy that it doesn't make sense to explain anything."
It's not the type of result you would associate with Atletico; under Simeone, they have been robust and aggressive. Here they made uncharacteristic mistakes and seemed to lose belief when the German outfit took the lead.
Since the 48-year-old took over in 2011, the Madrid side have never been on the end of this type of hiding:
FCB Media's Cristian Nyari commented on how rare it is to see a team of Atletico's calibre given this type of football lesson:
Rightly, the focus in the aftermath of the game has been on Dortmund, who appear to have their swagger back under manager Lucien Favre. Since Jurgen Klopp departed in 2015, the club has lacked identity.
What made the result more impressive was the fact that their top goalscorer this season, Paco Alcacer, missed this game. Axel Witsel, Jadon Sancho and two goals from Raphael Guerreiro were enough to do the damage on the night.
Arguably the star performer was Achraf Hakimi—on loan from Real Madrid—who was a creative menace from the left-back berth:
Adam Jones of the Liverpool Echo feels as though Dortmund may be capable of something special this season:
There are big hopes for this Dortmund team. While it's early days in 2018/19, it appears champions Bayern Munich are vulnerable in the Bundesliga, and in the Champions League, Wednesday's result was a major statement.
As a young side, there will most likely be moments when their form does fluctuate. However, BVB are one of the most enjoyable teams to watch on the continent this term.