Simeone lauds 'ambitious, enthusiastic' Atletico

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team for their lively start in their 5-1 thrashing of Las Palmas in LaLiga.

Angel Correa and Yannick Carrasco struck in the opening five minutes at the Estadio de Gran Canaria on Saturday, giving Atletico – who were without suspended star Antoine Griezmann – an early advantage they capitalised on to secure their first league win of the campaign.

Koke scored a stunning second-half brace and Thomas Partey sealed the win, which came despite Jonathan Calleri briefly making it 2-1 and Jonathan Viera failing to convert from the penalty spot for Las Palmas.

Simeone was full of praise for his team, particularly for the way they started the encounter.

"It was a very good match. At the start, we were ambitious, enthusiastic and energetic," he told a news conference.

"We knew where we could harm them and we took the lead rapidly. In the second half, the team played the match in the best way.

"The result shows 1-5, but without the effort, without the work and without the humility that my players had, we would not have reached this final result."

Atletico were held to a surprise draw at Girona in their league opener and sit third in the table ahead of the second matchday being completed on Sunday.