Simeone praises 'perfect execution' of his game plan

LEVERKUSEN, Germany - Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team for "perfectly executing" his game plan in its 4-2 Champions League victory at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday and said the scoreline should have been even higher.

Atletico ripped the erratic Leverkusen defense to shreds with a string of lethal counter-attacks in the last-16 first leg in Germany.

"We could even have won by a higher margin but their goalkeeper (Bernd Leno) pulled off two outstanding saves to deny (Antoine) Griezmann," said Simeone.