Atletico Madrid defeated Union St Gilloise 3-1 in their UEFA Champions League group stage matchday four clash, with Julian Alvarez, Conor Gallagher, and Marcos Llorente all getting on the scoresheet for Diego Simeone’s side.
Following the victory, head coach Diego Simeone praised his team’s performance and acknowledged the challenge posed by their Belgian opponents.
“We knew it would be a difficult and complex match. In Eindhoven they were 3-0 up until the 90th minute, and against Inter they had a very good first half with several chances to score. We dealt with that situation and improved as the match went on, just like against Sevilla,” Simeone said.
“Their defensive work made it difficult to find spaces, and their intensity in winning the ball back also created danger. We performed quite well in that aspect.”
“The first goal was very useful for us. In the second half we stepped up, started to control the game better, and they began to tire. The first goal came from a wonderful counterattack, and while controlling the game wasn’t easy, in the second half we executed what we wanted to do.”
The result marked an important response from Atletico after a mixed start to their Champions League campaign. Simeone’s men have now recorded two wins and two losses from their four group stage games.