Simeone grateful for experience in Atletico's ranks

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is grateful for the experience littered throughout his team after they beat Valencia 2-1 on Saturday.

Midfielder Koke scored early in the first half, and though Lucas Beltran equalised for the hosts, Antoine Griezmann came off the bench to score the winner in the 74th minute, ending a two-match losing run in LaLiga for Simeone's men.

Koke made his debut for the club all the way back in 2009, while Griezmann is Atletico's all-time leading goalscorer across two spells with the club, having originally joined in 2014.

And that kind of experience is seen as crucial by Simeone.

In his post-match press conference, he said: "Today [Griezmann] he helps the team, he has fun and this step that he and Koke are going through help the team, that is what their presence in the squad is about.

"They don't bring problems because they understand their place, they know that the years have passed, they accept the role because it is in a place in the squad and they give their best as Antoine and Koke are reflecting today."

Simeone also praised the performance of Marc Pubill, talking up his future prospects for the Spanish national side going forward.

The 22-year-old right-back provided an assist, won all six of his aerial duels, and made nine recoveries and seven clearances during the match.

"He continues in continuous progression, it will not take long for him to reach the national team.

"He can play as a full-back, as a centre-back or as a third centre-back and he has to maintain his humility in front of the newspapers and other beautiful words to continue maintaining that work he has done with a lot of patience."