Atletico Madrid’s nine-game winning streak in all competitions was fueled by players fighting for their places, coach Diego Simeone, 54, said on Tuesday.

After back-to-back Champions League wins at Paris St Germain and Sparta Prague, Atletico host winless Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday and Simeone urged his players to make the most of the opportunities that come their way so they can maintain their great momentum.

“We look at every game and try to visualize what is best for the team in the future,” Simeone said this at a press conference on Tuesday.

“If we look at the number of minutes for each player, most of our team had a good playing time.

“I urge the players to keep working, keep working… The work can be seen in Giuliano Simeone, Javi Galan, Clement Lenglet… who hadn’t played much at the beginning of the season.”

“I have no obligations to anyone. The players’ form is sometimes worse, sometimes better… We have a bigger squad this season and we have to go by what you see. Those who are playing recently are doing very well.”

“The teams grow as the season progresses. It is normal for a team to grow, there are a lot of games and we are asked to give our best in every game and that is not easy.”

Atlético had a busy transfer window last summer with the blockbuster signing of Argentine striker Julian Alvarez from Manchester City, one of several new signings including Conor Gallagher, Robin Le Normand, Lenglet and Alexander Sorloth.

After a slow start to the season with a string of lackluster performances, which included a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Benfica, Atlético are now on a six-week winning streak that has put them in a good position in the Champions League and LaLiga.

With a game to go, they sit third in the LaLiga standings with 35 points, three behind leaders Barcelona, ​​while ahead of Tuesday’s games they sit third in the reconfigured 36-team Champions League table We were in 15th place, one point behind the top eight places, which secured direct victory and qualified for the round of 16.

“We don’t look ahead and think about titles and successes. That’s the job of the media, we think from game to game, there is no other way to prepare.” Simeone said.

“We will be judged for the game against Slovan, a meeting that we have to play with only 68 hours between games and that no one cares about.”

“We have to be smart and play an intelligent game and take advantage of the opportunities that come our way. Let’s hope we can play a good game and continue on the line we’re on.”