Atlético de Madrid couldn't get past a draw in their match against Villarreal at the Metropolitano, a result that leaves a bittersweet taste for the red-and-white team. Pablo Barrios, one of the standouts of the match, completed the 90 minutes after having been sent off against Bayer Leverkusen and analyzed the game in statements to Movistar.
"We Haven't been Able to Take the Victory"
The young Atlético midfielder began by talking about how he feels physically after such a demanding match. "I'm fine, tired, it was a tough game, I got stepped on, but it's nothing serious," he assured. Regarding the match, Barrios highlighted the team's attitude: "With the 1-1, we got fired up, the team gave it their all. We wanted to take the victory, but it couldn't be."
One of the key moments of the match was the penalty called on Reinildo, which resulted in Villarreal's equalizer. Although Barrios avoided criticizing the referees, he hinted at the main problem affecting the team in recent matches: "The referees aren't an excuse, we just have to start better. We're conceding a lot of goals first and then we have to come back, and it's not easy to play with the score against us."
Villarreal, a Top-level Opponent
The player also had words of praise for the opponent, acknowledging their quality and the difficulty of the match. "Villarreal seems like a great team to me, they have great players, and we knew they were going to make it difficult for us. It was evident that it was like that," he commented.
Despite the result, Barrios valued the effort: "The team gave it their all, tried until the end, but it just didn't want to go in."
Looking to the Future
With a tight schedule and matches in the League, Cup, and Champions, fatigue is starting to be a factor to consider for the red-and-white team. "We know we have many matches, both in the League, Cup, and Champions. When it's our turn, we have to give everything we have on the field, as we're doing," Barrios noted, making it clear that the team is committed to continuing to work hard.
Finally, the midfielder maintained Atlético's usual discourse under Simeone's leadership, focused on the next goal. "We go match by match, as they say here, and we're already thinking about Wednesday, about advancing to the next stage and doing well."