Koke tells people to ‘leave Julian Alvarez alone’ after Atletico Madrid lose to Liverpool

Koke has urged people to “leave” Julian Alvarez alone after Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Atletico Madrid captain spoke about his team’s performance as well as the situation involving his Argentina team-mate, who failed to secure a move to Barcelona during the summer transfer window.

Alvarez was one of the main stories of the summer after expressing a desire to leave Atletico Madrid. Barcelona showed serious interest in signing the forward, but the transfer ultimately did not happen because the Madrid club insisted on keeping him.

Reflecting on the loss to Liverpool, Koke said Atletico Madrid had started strongly but were unable to recover after conceding a second goal.

“We played a very complete first half, scored a goal and then knew how to control the game,” he said. “They equalised and we went into the break. Then they came back for the second half slightly better and scored the second goal. After that, it was difficult to get back into the match.”

Liverpool’s pressure and their reading of the game also made it difficult for Atletico Madrid to find a way back, according to the midfielder.

“We know they are a team that press strongly, and they read the match in a way that suited them,” Koke added, as reported by Mundo Deportivo. “It would have suited us to increase the tempo, but we were unable to equalise.”

The defeat was Atletico Madrid’s second in succession after they also lost in Bilbao several days earlier. Koke said the team must respond in their next Champions League match, while stressing that there is still a long way to go in the competition.

“We started last season in the Champions League with a defeat and reached the semi-finals,” he said. “The Champions League is a long season. Although we really want to win matches, we lost in Bilbao a few days ago and lost again today. We want to win the next game.”

Koke then turned his attention to Alvarez, asking for the scrutiny surrounding the forward to ease after what he described as a demanding summer.

“We are all very tired, especially him,” he said. “We have to let him play, enjoy himself and do his job, which is to play football. You all have to leave him alone a little, because he has had a somewhat tiring summer. Let him do his best.”

Alvarez will now remain with Atletico Madrid after the proposed move to Barcelona failed to materialise, with the club retaining the player despite the transfer interest and his stated wish to depart.