Diego Costa lavishes praise on Diego Simeone

Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa has lavished praise on his manager Diego Simeone.

Ahead of Tuesday's last-16 Champions League second leg with AC Milan, the Spanish international has also insisted that the Argentine has been key to their success this season.

"The coach, for me, has been very important in the way we approach every game, how we interpret it and he taught us how to play a match and how to fight for a match," he told UEFA.com.

"Not just for me, but for all the players and the club, the coach has given us all a boost in quality, in personality, and has shown that with hard work and fight, you can accomplish your objectives.

"The coach has always told us to fight, but cleanly, we always try to be honest and don't do things with malicious intent. He's taught us how to fight cleanly."

Atletico hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Milan.