Diego Simeone has come out to say it “took balls” for him to play Diego Costa and Koke from the beginning of the game against Juventus as he shed light on his crotch-grabbing gesture during his team’s 2-0 win in Wednesday’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg.
It was Costa’s first start since he injured himself on Dec. 2 and Koke’s first appearance after his recovery from a muscular injury sustained on Jan. 19.
His words, “It means we have balls, a lot of balls,”
“To put in Costa and Koke after so long out, you must have balls and I have them. I wanted to show our fans what I was feeling. I did it [when I was a player] in a Lazio vs. Bologna game.”
“Costa was not ready for 90 minutes,” he said. “I spoke Wednesday morning with Costa and Morata, what I needed from each in the game.
“And they came through, both of them. Morata even after VAR did not favour him again.”
“The tie is not over yet, there is still a game to play,” Simeone said. “For sure we will have to suffer against a great opponent, with great players.
“We played a very strong game as a team. As the minutes passed we felt stronger, were making chances, and took two to get the victory against a very strong opponent.
“For sure we will have to suffer in Turin.”
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