Diego Simeone sends thinly veiled message to Joao Felix

Atletico Madrid were far from convincing in their 2-1 victory over Girona on Saturday, but they did get the three points necessary. In no small part, down to Angel Correa.

The Argentine made just his second start of the season against Girona and rewarded manager Diego Simeone with a brace. His first a striker’s goal at the back post and his second the result of pressing the goalkeeper, capitalising on a mistake from Juan Carlos.

After the match, Simeone was full of praise for his forward while speaking to Sport.

“Angel makes us happy, because he is all heart. On many occasions he has not started matches, but in all of these years at the club he has always played, by merit, for making an impact, for getting angry, for showing it… When he is angry off the pitch, he shows it on the pitch and this gives him more of a chance to play in a team that is all passion, demands, we have our demands very high.”

That speech was made unprompted however and for many, it was interpreted as a pointed message towards Joao Felix. The Portuguese has been warming the bench in recent weeks, but in contrast to Correa, Felix has shown himself to be frustrated on the pitch when he has come on.

For the fourth season in a row, it appears Simeone and Felix are once again openly having issues. Regardless of who is at fault, it is a situation that must be resolved one way or another, as for Atletico Madrid it is becoming a damaging weight for their most expensive asset to be a bit-part contributor.