Simeone trusts Alvarez to rediscover his scoring touch against Manchester United

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has backed Julian Alvarez to end his club goal drought when his side face Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Argentina striker has not scored for Atletico this season, although he did find the net for his country during the recent international break. He has now gone five matches without a goal at club level.

Simeone believes Alvarez’s value to the team extends well beyond his finishing.

“Strikers with Julian’s characteristics always need goals, not just him,” Simeone said on Monday.

“It’s true that beyond his finishing, he’s a team player, a player that can link very well, he can assist, and he’s got many more tools than just goalscoring.”

Alvarez was denied by the post after coming on as a substitute in Saturday’s win against Alaves. That result moved Atletico up to second in La Liga and made it four consecutive victories for Simeone’s side.

The Atletico coach was pleased with the forward’s performance and hopes Alvarez can continue to improve against United.

“He had a good second half in Saturday’s game and we hope that he can keep growing and arriving to the place where we all want to see him,” Simeone said.

Alvarez’s slow start to the campaign comes after a summer in which he reportedly sought a move to Spanish champions Barcelona.

Atletico and United seek Champions League response

Both clubs will be aiming to recover from defeats in their opening Champions League league-phase fixtures. Atletico lost to Liverpool, while Michael Carrick’s Manchester United side were beaten by Sabah.

United have also failed to win any of their past four matches in all competitions and have made their worst start to a Premier League season in 40 years.

Atletico will hope to use their recent domestic form to maintain momentum in front of their home support. The Metropolitano stadium is due to host the Champions League final in June, but Simeone said his focus was firmly on the immediate challenge.

“Reality is the day-to-day, game by game,” he said.

He also warned that the match would test Atletico’s ability to manage their energy over the full 90 minutes.

“The game will be long, it will be tough, and we have to manage our efforts to compete well,” Simeone added.