Simeone praises collective effort after 5-2 win over Real

Simeone, now in his 14th season with the club, acknowledged the emotional weight of the result, shedding tears of joy on the bench in the final minutes

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Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez celebrates scoring their third goal from the penalty spot.

(REUTERS)

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone hailed his team's faith and collective effort after their stunning 5-2 victory over Real Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday, a result that marked the first time in 75 years that Atletico had scored five goals against their city rivals.

"Real Madrid is one of the best teams in the world, and today we had to play a great game," Simeone told reporters.

"From the start, we knew where we could do damage, with breaks on the outside with Nico (Gonzalez), (Pablo) Barrios, Julian (Alvarez), Giuliano (Simeone)... pulling the centre-backs out and leaving (Alexander) Sorloth inside to create chances. I think that, beyond their two goals, the team did well."

Atletico had managed just one victory in their first six matches across all competitions and Simeone, now in his 14th season with the club, acknowledged the emotional weight of the result, shedding tears of joy on the bench in the final minutes.