Simeone: Atletico Madrid ‘need’ Julian Alvarez despite Barcelona defeat

Diego Simeone says Atletico de Madrid will wait for Julian Alvarez to rediscover his scoring touch because the club needs the Argentina forward to achieve its ambitions.

Alvarez did not score as Atletico lost 2-1 to Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano in the 12th round of La Liga. The result returned Barcelona to the top of the table on 33 points, while Atletico remain third on 28.

Simeone defended his team’s performance after the match, saying: “I leave the game with the impression that the players produced an exceptional performance. There is nothing for me to blame them for.”

He added: “We pushed the opposition into areas where they did not feel comfortable. We were not as decisive as we have been at other times, while they took advantage of the chances they had because they are a team with a great deal of confidence.”

“I am proud of the players. I liked what they produced and I am extremely happy with everyone’s work,” said the Atletico manager.

Simeone accepted that Barcelona deserved the victory, saying: “Yes, the result is fair because they scored two goals and we scored one.”

Atletico took the lead through Giuliano Simeone, but Fermin Lopez scored twice to give Barcelona all three points.

Asked whether physical factors had influenced the result, Simeone said: “I do not know if it was related to the physical side, but perhaps some of the players who came on from the bench could have performed better or worse. Overall, the match went in the way we wanted.”

He felt the contest had shifted between the two sides, adding: “In matches against major opponents, there are different periods. We had 50 good minutes; it was our period. Then came the opponent’s period, and they were more decisive than us.”

On Alvarez’s display, Simeone said the forward had made an important contribution, taking part in three chances as well as providing the assist for Giuliano Simeone’s goal.

“In the second half he tried to score with a shot over the goalkeeper, and he also created a chance for Baena. What more can we ask of him?” said Simeone.

“We all wanted him to score that goal, but we will wait for him. We need him if we want to reach the place we aspire to, because we will not achieve our goals without him.”

Simeone said he could not judge whether Alvarez was lacking confidence because he was “not inside his body”, but insisted the striker had the club’s backing.

“He is an exceptional player, we love him very much and we need him. We want the best version of him and we will work with him,” he said. “Of the team’s five good chances, he was involved in three or four. The only thing missing was the goal, which would have put him in a different position, but it will come.”

Alvarez’s assist means Barcelona are the club against which he has contributed most goals as an Atletico player, with seven in total – four goals and three assists.

Barcelona are also the only team in Europe’s five major leagues with more than one player to have contributed to 10 or more goals this season, with three players reaching that mark.

Lamine Yamal became the first Barcelona player to create seven chances in a La Liga match against Atletico Madrid since Xavi in October 2008.