Diego Simeone pleased by Atletico Madrid spirit

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has praised his players for showing the competitive edge to beat city rivals Real Madrid 2-0 last night.

The Rojiblancos, who were outplayed for much of the first half at the Vicente Calderon, are now strong favourites to advance through to the next round of the Copa del Rey thanks to their two-goal advantage from the first leg.

Simeone's decision to make seven changes clearly paid dividends, with the Argentine citing his team's freshness as the reason why they came out on top.

"Madrid started better but my guys responded well," he is quoted as saying by FourFourTwo. "We settled in the first half and were more competitive over time. The second half was very good. We worked well and we were tidy.

"The changes gave vitality to the team and that allowed us to occupy the spaces and close down well. We wanted to play our best XI and put out a competitive team, so we could have more patience and press. We pressed well in attack."

The return leg takes place at the Santiago Bernabeu next Thursday.