As Liverpool prepare for their first Champions League encounter of the season, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone addressed his mounting injury list
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is enduring a difficult start to the campaign(Image: YouTube/El Partidazo de Cope)
Liverpool look set to face off against an Atletico Madrid side weakened by injuries.
After the Reds’ trip to Burnley, Arne Slot’s men return to Anfield the following Wednesday to begin their Champions League campaign against Diego Simeone’s fierce side. The Reds topped the table in the league phase last season, before exiting on penalties to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
Slot will be looking for maximum points against the La Liga heavyweights, who have endured a tough start to the campaign. The Reds chances of doing just that have seemingly risen, as Atletico are enduring their fair share of injuries.
They are currently without top central defender Jose Gimenez who has been suffering with a hamstring injury. Talented winger Alex Baena, a £43million signing from Villarreal, is also set for a period on the side-lines after undergoing laparoscopic surgery for acute appendicitis.
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Simeone also revealed Argentina international Thiago Almada, who arrived from Brazilian side Botafogo, has also returned from international duty with a muscle injury, which looks set to rule him out of their trip to Liverpool.
Reacting to the latter in particular, Simeone said: “Footballers are athletes; these situations can happen in any national team. He’s an important player, who adds to Baena’s situation, but we have to live with what happens, and that’s why we need a strong squad.”
The injuries have come at a difficult time for Simeone. Ahead of the clash at Anfield, Atletico have lost 2-1 to Espanyol and drawn 1-1 with Elche and Alaves, leaving them in 16th position. There was palpable anxiety in the stands of the Wanda Metropolitano, which will host this season’s Champions League final, during their opening La Liga matches.
Diego Simeone has clashed with Arne Slot before when the Liverpool manager was still managing Feyenoord(Image: 2020 Soccrates Images B.V.)
When asked about the mood of the fans, Simeone said: “I don’t expect anything; when you expect in life, you despair. We need to work so that people identify with the team.
“As for the affection the fans have shown me, I’ve been grateful since I arrived in ’94, and I’m the one who has to keep giving the people what they expect from our team.”
However, the Argentine has not given up on winning La Liga and potentially lifting the Champions League in their own stadium. He added: “Last year we were 10 points behind Barcelona and in December we were first.
Atletico have struggled through their first matches of the new campaign(Image: 2025 Diego Souto)
“The points are few now, we accept the criticism, which is fair, because we haven’t earned the points we could have, but the most important thing is to find the team and improve. It seems like everything is bad, but not everything is bad, I’ll say that myself.
“I don’t want to justify the two points out of nine because there’s no justification. I live for points and I prefer to play badly and get points, and now we’re not playing so badly, but we have few points.”
Eleven players arrived on the red side of Madrid this summer. Baena and Almada are two of those stars who arrived from Villarreal and Botafogo respectively, while David Hancko, Johnny Cardoso, Giacomo Raspadori, Matteo Ruggeri, Marc Pubill, Santiago Mourino, Nico Gonzalez and Clement Lenglet also joined.
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