After a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, Atlético Madrid aimed to bounce back and pick up three points to keep in touch with Barcelona in LaLiga. Antoine Griezmann’s first half goal was cancelled out by a Portu equalizer though, and Atlético could only draw at home despite leading for nearly half the match.

Diego Simeone

On the match:

“In my opinion, we’re fine. It was a [hotly] disputed match. we controlled [play against] Girona, a dangerous rival which makes you play uncomfortably. I think we controlled the majority of the match, but our goal gave them a chance to equalize. At the same time, it gave us chances to find the winner.

I liked how the team played and I’m leaving with a positive sensation. Sometimes, things go your way. In Eibar we had to suffer a lot and we ended up winning 1-0 and today, in a weird play, they tied.”

On Diego Costa’s injury:

“[Costa] had a knock and he wanted to come off after he continued for a few minutes.”

On Griezmann’s play:

“He linked well with Correa and Costa. Gradually, I think we are improving.”

Ángel Correa

On the match:

“I think we played a great match, although we couldn’t close it out. That’s why they scored the equalizer, but we have to keep this up because the second half of the season just started.”

Lucas Hernández

On the match:

“We had bad luck to concede Girona’s goal. Whenever a team sits back and defends well, it’s hard to make a come back when there are 15 or 20 minutes left. We gave it our all, but it wasn’t meant to be. We have to keep working hard and we have to keep it up.”