Simeone praises Costa, Koke after victory at Bilbao
ByReuters
Updated 29/03/2014 at 22:47 GMT
Atletico Madrid's success this season is down to the consistency of the team as a whole but if any two players have stood out from the rest they are Spain internationals Diego Costa and Koke.
Diego Simeone - Atletico Madrid
Image credit: PA Sport
Atletico maintained their one-point lead over champions Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday after Koke sent Costa through to level at 1-1 in the 22nd minute at Athletic Bilbao before nodding home the winner 10 minutes after halftime.
Brazil-born forward Costa's 25th La Liga goal of the campaign and playmaker Koke's sixth and 12th assist kept Atletico on course for an unlikely La Liga title triumph with seven games left.
Coach Diego Simeone, a former Atletico player who has transformed the team since taking over at the end of 2011, typically avoided singling out individuals.
"Costa is a lad who is improving day by day, he has enormous physical strength," Simeone told a news conference.
"The way the team plays is a consequence of what he can give us and he feels comfortable in the side," added the Argentine.
"Koke is an extremely important player for us, for the way he plays, for the way he interprets tactics.
"Since we arrived here he has developed a great deal and today he is one of the best players in La Liga.
"Everything he is achieving is based on his efforts and hard work and that is great for anyone."
Atletico are also through to the Champions League quarter-finals and play their first leg at Barcelona on Tuesday.
They last won La Liga in 1996 with a team featuring Simeone and reached the last eight of Europe's elite club competition a year later.
"We are enjoying this situation day by day, minute by minute, training session by training session and match by match," Simeone said.
"Now it is time to prepare the game against Barcelona, which is going to be very tough."
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