Football: Soccer-Simeone wary of Dortmund’s home strength ahead of Champions League return

(Reuters) – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is wary of Borussia Dortmund’s strength at home as his side prepare for the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday having taken a 2-1 lead from last week’s first game.

Atletico, looking for their first Champions League semi-final place in seven years, beat Dortmund at the Metropolitano stadium on Wednesday but Simeone acknowledged the German side’s power at home, which could cause an upset in the return leg.

“They are a very strong team at home, they will surely start with a high tempo and we have to keep up the level we’ve been playing at in our last few games,” Simeone told reporters on Monday ahead of the game at Signal Iduna Park.

“I’m sure they will come out strong, they have a lot of skilful people on the wings, people in the middle who come in very well from the second line too. They work very well on set pieces and we will look to take the game where we think we can hurt them.”

Atletico had to withstand intense pressure from Dortmund after going 2-0 up through Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino before Sebastien Haller pulled one back and then twice hit the woodwork.

“All of their players worry me. They are very good, with enormous speed, the young guy number 47 (Antonios Papadopoulos), I don’t want to say his name wrong, but he came on the other day and he was a real menace.

“I can’t imagine any other style of their football because they showed it last season when they even had a chance to win the German league, and then Bayern (Munich) won it, but obviously they are a very strong team.”

However, Simeone trusts his side to deliver.

“We’ve grown as a consequence of the important results we’ve been able to get in LaLiga. That has made us grow enormously in the world of football and tomorrow we won’t be thinking so much,” he said.

“I feel good about the players, it’s going to be a good game and tomorrow will be a good Champions League night.”

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Ken Ferris)