Atletico Madrid were anything but convincing against Celta Vigo, but managed to secure a 1-0 win at Balaidos on Thursday evening. The result keeps them in third place in La Liga and still within touching distance of Barcelona and Real Madrid.

It wasn’t a particularly good performance from Atleti and this was acknowledged by head coach Diego Simeone. According to Diario AS, he admitted that his attacking players were below par in Galicia.

“We played against a team that was doing very well, that had grown with this coach and that didn’t lose at home with him. They play well, have a lot of possession, distribute the ball and take advantage of the mistakes they make. We didn’t play well in attack. The changes gave us creativity and we got closer to victory.”

Alexander Sorloth was one of those who failed to perform as he came on as a half-time substitute for eventual match-winner Julian Alvarez. Simeone spoke to both of them after the game and he expects them to soon lead to success for Atletico Madrid.

“They are special footballers. We need time for (Alvarez) and Alex to find a partnership. The team works very well defensively, they are very good collectively, with patience, except for the first half in Vallecas. But we have to improve offensively in our societies. First I want to find out who can best identify themselves to find this game. The boys are capable of anything, you know.”