“We all needed Julián Álvarez to score a goal”

Atlético de Madrid manager Diego Pablo Simeone said on Sunday that “everyone” needed Julián Álvarez to score “a goal” so that he would be “calmer” and that it was noticeable in the way his “teammates” celebrated him and how the Cívitas Metropolitano crowd “shouted.”

“I think the way his teammates celebrated, the way the people in the stadium cheered his goal speaks for itself of the importance it had. We all needed Julián Álvarez to score a goal so that he can be calmer, so that he can relate to what he likes, which is scoring. Hopefully it will be the first of many from now on,” said the Argentine coach of Atlético de Madrid in the press conference after the victory of the rojiblancos against Valencia.

The Argentine explained that Julián Álvarez always appears “at the least expected moment.” “It was the end of the match, a play that seemed to be fading away and suddenly the players who are prepared to be in the right place, in the sector where they had to be, luckily came to fruition and from now on we hope that it will continue to grow as we expect,” he said.

Simeone praised Gallagher, who also made his debut as a goalscorer: “He is a hard-working player, with good second-line attacking ability, who recovers balls, and who never stops giving his all in every game situation he takes part in. He has come with great enthusiasm, we need that type of player in the midfield because they undoubtedly make us better.”

Finally, he praised the response of all his players at the start of the season. “All the players who have come in from the bench are responding very well and that gives us the opportunity to compete as we want. That is the greatest strength we can have as a team,” he concluded.