Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone has warned his side to prepare for an intense atmosphere at Anfield when side faces Liverpool on Wednesday, following a lapse in concentration during their weekend defeat.
Atletico conceded two goals in the space of three second-half minutes on their way to losing 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
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A year ago, Atletico travelled to Merseyside for their opening Champions League fixture and trailed 2-0 within six minutes. Although they managed to recover to 2-2, they were ultimately beaten by a late Virgil van Dijk goal in added time.
Atleti have managed just one clean sheet across their past 16 Champions League matches and have lost on each of their last five visits to England.
“I don’t think it was (a lack of) motivation what happened to us in Bilbao, it was a lack of awareness, switching off,” said Simeone, whose team reached the semi-finals last season.
Julian Alvarez is not expected to start after missing out on a move to Barcelona (Reuters)
“We are coming into a marvellous stadium, a great atmosphere, we have to look at the start of the game as it will be full on.”
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Simeone acknowledged that transfer speculation involving forward Julian Alvarez proved unhelpful before the window shut, with the player missing two days of training citing illness after learning he would not be allowed to join Barcelona.
The Argentina international is unlikely to start, nor is striker Jonathan David, who signed on loan from Juventus on 1 September and has made only two substitute appearances, though both are expected to play some part.
Simeone added: “Jonathan has only just arrived, Julian is getting better. I don’t see he could start tomorrow, but I am sure he could help at some point in the game.”
Atleti left Anfield empty-handed last season, but they have enjoyed some success on Merseyside in the recent past.
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Back in 2020, Simeone’s men knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage, securing a 3-2 triumph at Anfield after extra time to seal a 4-2 aggregate win after claiming a 1-0 victory in the opening leg in Madrid.
Simeone will hope for a repeat result on Wednesday against a Liverpool side that beat Ipswich 2-0 on Friday to seal Andoni Iraola’s first win since replacing Arne Slot.
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