MADRID, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has offered an explanation for his side's poor performance in front of their home fans so far this season.
Costa spoke to the press after scoring Atletico's first goal in their 2-1 Champions League win away to Monaco and gave what he believes is one of the main reasons Atletico played a lot better away from home than in their own Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Atletico have so far struggled to a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, while on Saturday they were held to a 1-1 draw by Eibar and Costa has his reasons to explain those results.
"The pitch at the Wanda is horrible," he said.
"It has changed a lot from one season to the other and it's dreadful," commented the striker, who added that the members of the Atletico squad "talk about it among ourselves, saying we can't have a pitch which is that bad."
Defender Lucas Hernandez backed up Costa's declarations when he was asked about the pitch on Spanish radio.
"I didn't play at the weekend because I had a stomach problem, but everyone said the pitch was dreadful. I hope we can sort it out as soon as possible, for the good of the fans, the game and for football. We want it to be in the best possible condition," said Lucas.
Atletico only began playing in the 80,000 capacity Wanda Metropolitano at the start of the 2017-18 season after leaving their much loved Vicente Calderon Stadium, which had been the club's home for 50 years.
