Atlético de Madrid will face a very important week, starting with their visit to Barça to play the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. The red-and-whites approach this commitment with high spirits after thrashing Valencia at Mestalla and staying in the fight for LaLiga. The good news is that Simeone will have Pablo Barrios back, who was serving a suspension, although Koke is still recovering from his injury.
The other positive note is the good form of Julián Alvarez, who reached 19 goals this season after his brace last Saturday. He is the top scorer for the Madrid team, surpassing Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth, improving his best record in Europe. Despite the criticism last summer, the reality is that the world champion has improved his performance since being under Simeone's guidance.
The Best Version of Julián Alvarez
It is something that happens often, many voices thought that Cholo would negatively affect the career of a world star, something that is always false. Julián Alvarez was looking to leave Manchester City to gain prominence and show everyone he was capable of being the franchise player of a major club in Europe. Although it took him a few matches to find the net, the numbers show that this is already his best season since arriving in the old continent, scoring 19 goals as a red-and-white.
With almost 1000 fewer minutes than those played at Manchester City last year, Julián Alvarez has matched his best goal-scoring record and aims to keep adding. Barring surprises, he will be able to surpass Luis Suárez, who scored 21 goals in the league championship in the last season the colchoneros lifted the trophy. Tomorrow, he will face one of the most important matches of the entire season, needing to return to Madrid with a positive result against Barça.
Simeone Does It Again
During the summer market, there was nothing but criticism, as many did not understand why Atlético de Madrid would pay 65 million euros for a substitute. However, as Pep Guardiola has stated, the Argentine would have been an important footballer this season at Manchester City. Injuries and the low level shown by the current champion of England would have made Julián Alvarez one of the important pieces of the team.
In fact, Simeone praised him again after defeating Valencia and it is still expected that he will continue to increase his records to be able to win some silverware in one of the competitions. His work and commitment are unquestionable, something many value considering he is a player who has won almost all the titles, despite his young age. He will be the great star of Atlético de Madrid once Antoine Griezmann leaves, who also showed last weekend that he still has a lot to say.