Simeone delighted with developing Atlético

Diego Simeone, Atlético coach
We dominated the first half and even though we struggled to create chances I always felt we were going to score. Zenit improved in the second half and managed to equalise. We reacted very well and scored the second goal, before our third made the game safe.

Adrián López is a very important player for us. He did what the team needed tonight and I'm very pleased with him. Everybody knows about his quality and I hope the support of the fans helps him improve. When you have a strong group of players the team responds. We need everyone available and plenty of options throughout the competition. Arda Turan's goal shows our hunger; we never stop until we get what we want.

[With the third goal] the match was at a crucial point and Léo Baptistão did a great job. He read the situation perfectly and took his goal well.

Zenit and Porto are more experienced teams than us. For many of our players, it is their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League, but we are developing all the time.

Luciano Spalletti, Zenit coach
We created very little in the first half, but felt more comfortable after the break. We settled once we scored our goal, but Atlético quickly took the lead again which changed the flow of the game. We allowed them too much space and they scored after an individual mistake at a set piece. Atlético created nothing from open play. We started to play more aggressively after half-time and had some good chances.

We chose five defenders so we would have players to combat their set pieces. This also allowed our forwards more freedom. They didn't have to defend and could focus fully on attack.

It's clear Atlético are in very good form right now. They are on a roll and they did not have the same problems we did, such as Hulk playing his first game after injury. Atlético are riding the crest of a wave and you can see the strong spirit that helped them to win the individual battles.