Mario Suarez has warned Atletico Madrid that they cannot continue to rely on goals from set-pieces in La Liga.
The Spanish champions rebounded from the 3-1 defeat to Valencia before the international break by defeating Espanyol 2-0 at Vicente Calderon on Sunday.
Both of Atleti’s goals came as a result of Espanyol’s failure to deal with corners, with Tiago and Suarez himself the ultimate beneficiaries.
However, Suarez believes the capital club must start scoring more from open play if they are to provide a sustained challenge in their title defence.
“The set-pieces are good and we work hard on them,” he told reporters.
“They bear fruit but we have to score from open play as our opponents will get to know what we’re doing.”
Suarez, though, was delighted Atleti were able to return to winning ways and is now focused on Wednesday’s clash with Malmo in the UEFA Champions League.
“We suffered in Valencia but the team has showed character,” he added. “We won today and now we think about the Champions League. We have to keep going.”
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