Atlético please Simeone as Malmö plot revenge

• Diego Simeone praises Atlético's precision in five-goal second half
• Man of the match Koke has last 16 in his sights after big win
• Åge Hareide and Markus Rosenberg promise tougher test in return
• Match report: Atlético 5-0 Malmö
• Next games: Malmö v Atlético (4 November)

Diego Simeone, Atlético coach
We were close to scoring in the first half but we improved our finishing in the second. Our first goal broke their defensive structure. [Antoine] Griezmann was anxious to score, like any other forward. He did a good job and is now closer to the player we need and the player he actually is. [Alessio] Cerci could play as a striker because he causes problems for opponents and that is the reason he played in this position tonight.

Griezmann's goal celebration was a spontaneous reaction. We told him that his goal was about to come during half-time. We have to play every match like it is our last one. Nothing is decided and we must be careful. We will treat our next match at Malmö like a final.

Åge Hareide, Malmö coach
We were too far away from them. They played well. We played a good first half but we lost the game in the second. It is always easy to know everything after the match but we coaches have to think about it before. We missed the energy we saw in our players previously. Maybe our players were very happy and did not work hard enough to prepare for this match. We have to analyse this game to have a chance at home. If we do not win the next match it will be very difficult to qualify.

Koke celebrates after scoring the opening goal©AFP/Getty Images

We knew about Atlético's strengths and we needed to be more compact and stronger as a team. Atlético's wingers were more dangerous in the second half. We did not play well in midfield and they took advantage of this. [Isaac Kiese] Thelin is a great young player and tonight he was improving while he was playing. This is what we have to do to be a better team. These kind of results are normal at the beginning of a European career. We have to learn and forget. We must not think about the result too much. It was an excessive defeat.

Koke, Atlético midfielder
I am delighted, especially about the victory and the three points. We knew it would be very important to keep on fighting to qualify, and especially playing here at home. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but it was great that we could score, with Cerci and [Mario] Mandžukić, and that is very important for us.

[The return match] will be difficult. We still lacked a bit of calm to move the ball around better. We created chances first half, but in the second we got closer to goal and that was important. We knew we would only get a few chances but we managed to convert them. We are thinking about ourselves – in the end everything depends on us. We play every match like a final, and it is important that we do. We are looking at ourselves. But if we win our next matches then we certainly qualify.

Markus Rosenberg, Malmö forward
We were playing against a good team, they were finalists last year. We stood up in the first half, we played really well, but in the second half we got tired. Atlético play very fast football and we had to run a lot, so when we got tired they scored goals. Unfortunately it became five in the end, and I do not think we deserved to concede so many.

Åge Hareide shows his frustration©AFP/Getty Images

It is going to be a totally different game at home. We have much more power at home and we have a great result behind us at home, so hopefully we can get a result.

Guilherme Siqueira, Atlético defender
This gives us a lot of confidence for our upcoming league games and the next UEFA Champions League match [away to Malmö]. The boss told us to keep going at half-time – we were playing well in the first half but lacked a bit of luck, but once the first one went in we were in control. We continued playing with the same intensity and as they tend to do, the goals came.

Koke is a great player. He came through the Atlético youth system and knows what the club means. On the pitch he is so important for us, he plays with tremendous intensity for 90 minutes, all for the good of the team, always thinking of us. It is a pleasure for us to be able to share a pitch and a dressing room with him.

Alessio Cerci, Atlético forward
The boss said we were playing well – and he was right – and that we needed to get the first goal. Once the first goal went in, we got a bit more luck and broke through them, and we managed to do ourselves justice. Mine was an important goal because I have had to bide my time and I have worked hard. Therefore it was important and it was worth the wait.