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Hat trick hero Radamel Falcao: Atletico Madrid must keep feet on the ground after 4-0 win over Real Sociedad
The Colombian struck three times at the Estadio Municipal de Anoeta, including a sensational lob for his second, but reminds his colleagues that their work is not yet done
Jan 22, 2012 7:13:00 AM
By George Ankers
Radamel Falcao - Atletico Madrid
Hat trick hero Radamel Falcao has hailed the contribution of his Atletico Madrid teammates in Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad but urged his side to “keep their feet on the ground”.
An early penalty and two late goals, one a spectacular lob from outside the area, took the Colombian to 14 goals so far this season, while Adrian also netted at the Estadio Municipal de Anoeta.
The result sees the capital city outfit in seventh place in La Liga, having won seven out of nine possible points so far under new coach Diego Simeone.
“We’ve been working for a while with the previous coaches and with the new ones to try to improve ourselves at home,” Falcao told Marca after the win. “This result gives us peace at last but we must keep our feet on the ground because we have not met our targets and are still outside the European places.
“We want to take it game-by-game and take each one as a challenge.”
The former Porto forward emphasized the collective effort made by the whole team in crushing the Basque side in San Sebastian.
“I’m very happy, not only for my goals but that we won on the road and the manner in which we did so, with all the individual performances and the performances of the group,” he added.
Arguably the highlight of the evening for Falcao was his second goal, in which he lobbed goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from some way out, but the Colombian was still unwilling to take full credit for the strike.
“It was a good move from the whole team,” he insisted. “We’re finding each other more and getting the best out of each other. I could not have scored without the help of my teammates. Personal targets are important but not as important as the objectives of the team.”
Atletico now prepares for an away trip to Osasuna on January 29.
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An early penalty and two late goals, one a spectacular lob from outside the area, took the Colombian to 14 goals so far this season, while Adrian also netted at the Estadio Municipal de Anoeta.
The result sees the capital city outfit in seventh place in La Liga, having won seven out of nine possible points so far under new coach Diego Simeone.
“We’ve been working for a while with the previous coaches and with the new ones to try to improve ourselves at home,” Falcao told Marca after the win. “This result gives us peace at last but we must keep our feet on the ground because we have not met our targets and are still outside the European places.
“We want to take it game-by-game and take each one as a challenge.”
The former Porto forward emphasized the collective effort made by the whole team in crushing the Basque side in San Sebastian.
“I’m very happy, not only for my goals but that we won on the road and the manner in which we did so, with all the individual performances and the performances of the group,” he added.
Arguably the highlight of the evening for Falcao was his second goal, in which he lobbed goalkeeper Claudio Bravo from some way out, but the Colombian was still unwilling to take full credit for the strike.
“It was a good move from the whole team,” he insisted. “We’re finding each other more and getting the best out of each other. I could not have scored without the help of my teammates. Personal targets are important but not as important as the objectives of the team.”
Atletico now prepares for an away trip to Osasuna on January 29.
Follow GOAL.COM USA on
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