According to reports, Atletico Madrid will face Alaves tomorrow in the 34th round of La Liga. Diego Simeone, in the pre-match press conference, answered journalists’ questions and, with sarcasm and humor, reacted to topics such as the future of some players and rumors about Alex Baena.

When asked about Alex Baena’s football quality, Simeone laughed and said: “You’re asking me a tough question because you want me to talk about a player who may or may not come, and at the same time, I have to say how he plays. Do you think I’m stupid? (laughs) You’re asking a double-edged question; you want me not to talk about a player who isn’t in my team, but to say how he plays. If I say he plays amazingly, I love his game, and he’s an important player for the team, you’ll say Cholo wants him. If I say he plays poorly, you’ll say Cholo doesn’t want him. So I’ll just say this: he’s a great player, obviously.”

Atletico’s performance in away matches?

Our last game wasn’t good. We should have won against Sevilla. However, the team has shown good reactions in other tough away matches. I hope we can get closer to Atletico; a team that has performed well in different stadiums throughout the season.

The unclear situation of some players?

As always, we proceed with honesty, with clarity about what we want now and what we want for the future. I don’t change. We try to finish the season in the best possible way.

The team’s goal for the rest of the season?

We want to compete with all our strength in every match. Real Madrid and Barcelona are in a good position to compete directly with each other. We do our own work. We must focus on improving our performance and look at the match against Alaves; a team that has performed well in recent weeks, has a good rhythm, and a coach with clear ideas. As always, they are a brave team, they need points; so do we. We must take the game to where we can strike.

Marcos Llorente?

Marcos has improved every year. He still has room to grow because he wants to and knows what he’s looking for in life. Due to his characteristics, he has adapted to the team’s needs. This is one of his best seasons, except for the season we won the title, where he had a more offensive role. Now he has a more comprehensive understanding of the team, which I really like.

What are you missing this season?

9 or 10 points that we should have taken in some stadiums but didn’t.