Atletico Madrid's Raul Garcia (C) celebrates with his teammates after scoring 3-0 lead during the UEFA Europa League soccer match against Hapoel Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel. Atletico won 3-0. TEL AVIV: Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone was understandably thrilled with his team's performance in their 3-0 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in their opening Europa League opener this morning.
Atletico, who are the defending champions raced to a three-goal lead just after the hour mark with a much-changed lineup that did not include star striker Radamel Falcao amongs a few other regulat starters.
“I am very happy, but mainly because there were kids playing their first 90 minutes here and they are still being trained on how to play," said Simeone.
“They are outstanding players and we need to understand this as a team, that they are playing for each other. We have to be prepared.
“We have commitment, humility and we want to work as a team. This is what gave us the chance of doing an important job."
The former Lazio midfielder then reserved special praise for Diego Costa, who starred on the night by scoring a goal and providing an assist.
“Diego Costa is very important for the entire footballing year. We have Adrian, Raul Garcia, Diego, Falcao - who wasn’t here," he said..
“I’ve never liked using regular starters and substitutes. They are all football players, representing a club. We want to be competitive and to have a team that always knows what is wanted.
“I do not know what game was expected, but we played a very strong first half that was very specific. We were very clear about what we wanted from our preparation and now we have to keep looking forward and never back, in what will be achieved.”
The win was Atletico's 14th in a row in the competition, a streak that stretches back to last season's group stages.
RESULTS
Group A
Young Boys 3 Liverpool 5
Udinese 1 Anzhi 1
Group B
H. Tel Aviv 0 Alte Madrid 3
V. Plzen 3 Academica 1
Group C
AEL 0 B. Monchengladbach 0
Fenerbahce 2 Marseille 2
Group D
Maritimo 0 Newcastle 0
Bordeaux 4 Club Brugge 0
Group E
Stuttgart 2 S. Bucharest 2
Copenhagen 2 Molde 1
Group F
DN Pro 2 PSV 0
Napoli 4 Aik 0
Group G
Sporting Lisbon 0 Basel 0
Genk 3 Videoton 0
Group H
Inter Milan 2 Ruben Kazan 2
Partizan 0 Neftchi 0
Group I
Lyon 2 S. Prague 1
Ath Bilbao 1 Kiryatshmona 1
Group J
Maribor 3 Panathinaikos 0
Spurs 0 Lazio 0
Group K
Rapid Vienna 1 Rosenburg 2
B. Levekusen 0 Metalist 0
Group L
Levante 1 Helsingborgs 0
Twente 2 Hannover 2
- mD
