Diego Simeone hails Diego Costa performance

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has lavished praise on Diego Costa following Thursday's 1-0 win over Arsenal in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final.

Costa netted the only goal of the match at the Wanda Metropolitano as Atletico booked their spot in the Europa League final courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate success over the Gunners.

A hamstring injury saw the Spain international miss the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, but the striker returned on Thursday to haunt Arsenal once again, and Simeone paid tribute to the 'fury and intensity' that Costa provided.

"It was for nights like this that Costa joined us," Simeone told reporters. "He provided the fury and intensity that we needed, to be able to force opposition players into mistakes and assist his other teammates."

Atletico will take on Marseille in this season's Europa League final, with the French outfit surviving a scare to overcome Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 on aggregate.