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Simeone: Atletico are focused on those closest to us in the standings

8 months ago  Raphael   Sport News

Atletico Madrid may be losing the battle for third place in LaLiga to Sevilla at present, but coach Diego Simeone isn't worried about thinking about the end of the season quite yet.Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann have been impressing of late, which has propelled Los Colchoneros back into the equation, but the Argentine boss chooses to instead focus on the present."We don't have chance to think about anything except this Granada game," Simeone explained at a pre-match press conference. "Atletico are most focused on those closest to us in the standings, which means the battle for fourth.""There are a lot of points to play for and the margin for error decreases each time. Real Sociedad are doing very well, Villarreal play good football and Sevilla are vying for the title. Now we must look at what we have coming up next, especially the teams below us. Right now, we are isolated from the three teams that are fighting for the title."Kevin Gameiro will miss out at the weekend, as well as captain Gabi, but Simeone believes that Granada should put up a tough fight regardless of their league position."Gameiro isn't going to be fit for the game because he doesn't feel well, he isn't in the right condition to play in a game as important as this. Fernando [Torres] is recovering."Gabi's injury is an unexpected situation. All of these complex situations keep changing in a tough season. These occurrences mean that we have to use all of the players at our disposal."The second set of fixtures is always different to the first, even more so when the opponents are in the relegation zone. Granada are strong at home, intense and they have made life difficult for a lot of opponents, we have to find a way to play which makes us comfortable."The coach [Lucas Alcaraz] has given them the character that they have. They are resilient defensively and have options up top, [Adrian] Ramos for counter-attacking with his back to goal. We have to be ready to adapt and see which way the game goes," he said.