Simeone defends Sorloth for missed chances

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone told reporters on Saturday that "forcefulness makes them better" on the eve of the visit to Real Betis, who he said are a team that plays "better and better", with creative and attacking football.

"We always talk about forcefulness. Defensive forcefulness makes you better, offensive forcefulness makes you better and in those two facets football is managed," said the coach at Saturday's press conference after the morning training session.

"Then there is everything in between, which is the game, the associative, the third man, the fourth man, the possibility, the possession, defending low, high, recovering after loss and everything that is in the game, but the reality is the forcefulness in the areas and the team that is better in those situations will always be the one that is closer to winning," said Simeone, who is expected to relegate Alexander Sorloth to the bench.

The Norwegian forward missed three clear-cut chances against Lille in Wednesday's 3-1 Champions League defeat, although the coach highlighted his progress on Saturday.

"He's connecting better with his teammates, his teammates are finding him in his best version of the game he needs, that's a very important step for the team and it's a positive situation and not a negative one for the team," Simeone explained.