Atletico Madrid has been dealt a significant blow forward of its UEFA Champions League opener towards Liverpool. Diego Simeone’s facet will step onto the Anfield pitch with out one in every of their most necessary gamers, Julian Alvarez. The information has surprised supporters simply hours earlier than kick-off and raises huge questions on how Los Rojiblancos will line up in one of many hardest fixtures on the calendar.
Liverpool arrives at this European conflict in devastating form. Arne Slot’s facet have received all 4 of their Premier League video games, together with a dramatic 1-0 victory at Burnley secured by Mohamed Salah’s stoppage-time strike.
The Reds shall be wanting to banish the reminiscences of final season’s Champions League marketing campaign, the place they had been eradicated within the spherical of 16 by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain. The environment at Anfield shall be electrical, with the house followers dreaming of a seventh European crown.
Whereas the English crew is flying, Atletico Madrid has endured a rougher begin domestically. Simeone’s gamers have managed only one win in 4 La Liga matches, leaving them in mid-table. The Spanish big is making an attempt to stability its league struggles with the calls for of a European marketing campaign, and the journey to England comes at a difficult time.
Why is Julian Alvarez absent?
For days, Colchoneros supporters speculated whether or not their star can be prepared for this important conflict. The membership lastly confirmed their 22-man squad on Tuesday — and Alvarez’s identify was lacking.
The rationale? A knee damage picked up through the current 2-0 victory over Villarreal. He was pressured off at halftime after helping Pablo Barrios’ opening aim, and medical checks later revealed that he wouldn’t recuperate in time for the Champions League opener. “Julian Alvarez is not going to journey with the crew to England after sustaining a knee damage within the Villarreal match,” the La Liga facet confirmed in a press release.
It is a crushing setback for Simeone, as Alvarez has been one of many crew’s most dependable performers since becoming a member of from Manchester Metropolis in 2024. He was the membership’s prime scorer final season with 29 objectives in 54 appearances, together with seven objectives in simply ten Champions League video games.
