Julian Alvarez included in Atletico Madrid squad to face Villarreal

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has confirmed that Julian Alvarez will be included in the squad for Sunday’s La Liga match against Villarreal at the Wanda Metropolitano.

The Argentina striker missed Atletico’s opening league fixture, but Simeone said Alvarez was now in better condition and progressing through the club’s physical preparation programme alongside his team-mates.

“Alvarez will join the squad for tomorrow’s match. He is in better shape and is following his physical preparation programme like all his team-mates,” Simeone said at his pre-match news conference.

“We will try to manage a complicated and difficult match tomorrow against a strong opponent with outstanding players. We are still in the phase of managing minutes, especially because the opponents have not yet reached their best level.”

The fixture will be Atletico’s second match of the La Liga season. Simeone’s side began their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Malaga, a match in which Alvarez was absent.

Villarreal drew 2-2 with newly promoted Racing de Santander in their opening game and will be seeking their first league win of the season when they visit Atletico.

Simeone also reiterated the importance of Alvarez to the club’s ambitions, after Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel spoke publicly about the player.

“​Miguel Angel, the chief executive of Atletico Madrid, spoke clearly, and I am continuing along the same path,” Simeone said. “For me, Julian is a very important player in achieving the objectives we are pursuing as a team. We need him, we will look after him from a sporting perspective and we will stand by him.”

The manager acknowledged that it was difficult for anyone to fully understand how another person was feeling, but said he had been encouraged by Alvarez’s work in training.

“Obviously, it is very difficult for each person to know individually how someone else feels, because I am not in his place,” he added. “What I see is that he is training in the best possible way and working with his team-mates with great respect for everyone.”

Alvarez’s return to the squad comes after Simeone faced questions about the reaction of Atletico supporters towards the player. The manager said he wanted to clarify remarks he had made during his previous news conference.

“I want to complete the sentence I started at the last press conference, when I said that I respect the fans of my team,” he said. “That is absolute and has always been the case, but of course I do not agree with insults or excesses.”

Atletico will now assess Alvarez’s involvement on Sunday, with Simeone indicating that the club remains cautious over playing-time management at this early stage of the season. The forward’s inclusion provides the possibility of an appearance against Villarreal after he sat out the opening-day win over Malaga.