With another two points dropped, Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone has come under even more pressure after his team were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw away at Alavés, meaning that the Colchoneros continue to seek their first win of the 2025/26 campaign.
“I’m focused on the first thing, which isn’t the points, but how we are playing,” Simeone said post match. “I want the team to improve and, as a result,
the points to improve.
“The team always comes first, then the points, it’s very difficult to want to win when you’re playing badly as it happens sometimes, but not always,” he continued. “It’s crystal clear that the most important thing is the gap between us and whoever finishes top today, but if I start thinking about that, I forget about the team. If I think about that, I forget to work for us to pick up points.”
Simeone on how he’s feeling
“If we keep working and trust my players completely, we have a team that will do better than we are doing now. Even so, we could have won today, but we lacked the necessary strength and effectiveness. We must keep working, have faith in what the team is capable of, and improve.”
Simeone on conceding another early goal
“It all happened very quickly. Sørloth didn’t see him coming, and I don’t blame him for that decision because it was fleeting. We’ve conceded four goals in three games, which is difficult to understand. We have to understand that we have two points out of nine and keep working hard. I’m sure we’ll continue to improve our results.”
Simeone on chances
“Sørloth had a header, Griezmann hit the post, Llorente lacked strength at the end, another from Raspadori … Alavés defended well, worked hard, and we didn’t have enough quality to break a game that was favorable to us because of the team’s play and dynamics. We need to shoot more, be more decisive… We have the players to make this happen. We need time and patience.”
Simeone on whether more signings are needed
“I’m not thinking about that with the game just finished.”
Simeone on whether this was the right result
“We need a goal to open up the possibilities for the team to grow, from all the scoring chances we had. They defended well, I think we deserved to win the game. We didn’t, we have two points.”
Simeone on scoring first
“It’s strange what’s happening, scoring first is the hardest thing… We’ve had chances to close out games in every match. Against Espanyol, against Elche… We always go through these spells, let’s hope it’s a short one and we can turn it around against Villarreal.”
Simeone on defensive concerns
“We have to improve defensively, but where we really need to improve is up front. We have to create better chances for the strikers to provoke more actions like the one Sørloth had with his header.”
Simeone on his players
“The boys are working very well. We have to keep working in the same way and wait for the players we have who are important. They’re going to end up getting the results they deserve, it will come with confidence, with assurance. Assurance can’t be bought, it comes with hard work. With confidence and assurance, the results will come.”
