Simeone satisfied with the performance of Atletico's less regulars

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Pablo Simeone said on Wednesday after their 4-0 win in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals that his team knew how to take Elche to the game they wanted.

"The game asked for what we generated. Elche came very well, with a lively game and many virtues in attack. We knew that with the speed we have we were going to generate chances," said the Argentine coach, who was particularly pleased with the performance of the less regular players.

"I knew they were ready and waiting for their chance," said the coach, who described his side's first-half performance as "very solid". "Then, after the sending off, the game took us to another place," added Simeone, who recalled, "we had to win to go through”.

"We knew what was going to happen in the first few minutes of the game and it happened. Elche were brave, but as the minutes passed we found what we were looking for," he added.

"The team played with humility and hard work against an opponent that plays well and has been doing well," he said, recalling that he had already sensed in the build-up that the squad transmitted “good energy”.

Simeone finally revealed that Sorloth, who scored a goal in the match, did not play the second half as a precaution and recalled that both the Norwegian and Julian Alvarez needed "some time to adapt" to offer their best performance and help the team.