Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has praised new La Liga champions Barcelona, calling them "the team that plays the best football in the world."
Speaking ahead of the match against Osasuna, the Argentine coach expressed great pride in his team, highlighting the fact that Atletico managed to eliminate Barcelona from two different competitions this season.
Simeone praised the high level that Hansi Flick has brought out of the Catalan team this season.
Barcelona secured the league title in spectacular fashion after defeating arch-rivals Real Madrid 2-0 at the "Spotify Camp Nou", creating a 14-point lead over Alvaro Arbeloa's team with just three games remaining.
Although Barcelona have dominated La Liga, Atletico have had success against them in direct competitions this season.
The Madrid club eliminated Barcelona first in the semi-finals of the King's Cup with an aggregate score of 4-3, and then in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with an aggregate score of 3-2.
Despite the praise for his rival, Simeone also spoke proudly of his team.
"Barcelona is the team that plays the best football in the world. They won the championship by playing very well, just like last season," he said.
"And all I thought as I watched the game was: 'We eliminated this team twice, oh my God!'" he added.
Speaking about the match against Osasuna at "El Sadar", Simeone also gave positive news about the physical condition of defender Jose Maria Gimenez.
The Uruguayan suffered an injury in the match against Celta Vigo, but the coach confirmed that it is only a sprained ankle.
"Fortunately it's just a sprained ankle and we hope he arrives in shape for the World Cup and represents Uruguay as he deserves," Simeone declared.
He also hinted that there may be room for new players from the academy against Osasuna.
"We will always try to choose the best possible team and surely the academy players will also participate and take advantage of this great opportunity to play with the first team," he concluded./Express newspaper/
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