Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez clears up Diego Simeone frustration

Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez has moved to clear up controversy over his reaction to being taken off last week. The Argentina international was seen looking upset on the bench during their 1-1 draw with RCD Mallorca, after missing a penalty and then being taken off just after the hour-mark.

Alvarez then made headlines for appearing to say ‘It’s always me’, which many interpreted as a complaint of Diego Simeone’s substitution policy. Any tension was certainly released in an emphatic manner against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday night, as Alvarez scored a hat-trick, including a stunning winner with three minutes to go. Speaking to LaLigaTV after the game, as covered by Marca, Alvarez said that things had not been going their way.

“We needed to get three points and gain confidence by winning. We were playing well, but small things weren’t giving us the results. We have to keep working hard to keep this winning streak going.”

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Julian Alvarez denies Diego Simeone complaint

Ahead of and after their clash with Rayo, Simeone had tried to cool the matter, by stating that Alvarez was his best player, and that they were in need of him. Alvarez explained the incident away though.

“It’s part of football. Sometimes you have to make mistakes, sometimes you have to score. You have to work to help the team and improve every day,” he said following his dramatic personal turnaround in four days.

“The words they said… The lip reading they did on me had nothing to do with what I’d said. I swore and he was mad at me, to be honest. This always happens with social media, but it’s all good. Let’s keep improving so we don’t lose any points along the way.”

Alvarez looks ahead to Madrid derby

There will be no let up for Los Colchoneros though, as they face Real Madrid on Saturday afernoon after a taxing win over Rayo.

“We need to rest and think about the home game we’re going to play with our fans. It’s going to be a great show, and we’ll give everything we have to take the three points.”