Atlético Madrid captain Koke said his teammates are “tired” of the fuss around Julián Álvarez after, saying the star forward needs to be “left in peace” after Atlético’s 2-1 Champions League defeat at Liverpool on Wednesday.
Alvarez played 90 minutes at Anfield — his first full game of the season — and provided the assist for Marcos Llorente to put the visitors ahead, before strikes from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister turned the match around.
Alvarez wanted to join Barcelona this summer, but Atlético refused to consider a deal, with the club’s fans left angry by the player’s attitude.
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“We’re tired [of it],” Koke said, speaking to Movistar on Wednesday. “We have to leave the boy alone, to let him enjoy himself, to let him do his job and play football. Between all of us, we have to leave him in peace, because it’s been a really tiresome summer from [the media]. Let’s hope he can be left in peace to do his job.”
Goalscorer Llorente confirmed Atletico’s players have “no problem with Julián” despite his attempt to leave the club.
“He’s a very important player for us,” Llorente told journalists on Wednesday. “He gave me a marvellous assist. That’s what we need. We need him to be right, to be sharp, because he’s been a long time without competing. He did well, he worked hard, he ran, that’s what we need.
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“What I can say is we’re with Julian, he’s our player, a teammate. He’s important and he makes the difference.”
Llorente became the highest-scoring non-Liverpool player at Anfield on Wednesday, with his 17th minute goal being his fifth at the stadium, after two previous Champions League braces.
“I was thinking when I arrived, I said to myself, ‘I can’t score here again!'” he said. “I’m very happy to score here again, it’s a great stadium, it’s the best competition in the world. But in the end when the team doesn’t win, especially as you get older, that doesn’t matter.”
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Coach Diego Simeone said his team’s defending needs to improve after conceding a total of five goals in their last two games, against Athletic Club and Liverpool.
“We need to work, to adjust important details,” Simeone said. “It’s a lot of goals [we’re conceding]. Three the other day in Bilbao, two today, two against Villarreal. We aren’t defending as we can… Goals come from mistakes. All teams take advantage of their opponents’ mistakes to score.”
