Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has hailed his players for their performance against Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Spanish outfit took the lead in their Group G clash in Russia, but had to settle for a point after Toby Alderweireld's own goal in the 73rd minute.

"We had chances to win in the second half, but with humility and hard work we achieved a good result against a great team," he told reporters after the match.

"It brought us a lot of pleasure to see those who don't play all that much performing the way they did. The team performed really well and that's a good sign for the future.

"The anticipated changes to the team? We are respectful and obviously interpret criticism in the best way. We have been working together for two years and I am very pleased to see the squad grow."

Atletico had already secured top spot in the group before the match with four wins.