Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone has issued a warning to his players, urging them to prepare for an intense atmosphere at Anfield ahead of their Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday. The caution follows a lapse in concentration during Atletico's recent 3-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao, where they conceded two goals in three second-half minutes.
Simeone stated, "I don’t think it was (a lack of) motivation what happened to us in Bilbao, it was a lack of awareness, switching off." He added, "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."
Last season, Atletico trailed 2-0 within six minutes during their opening Champions League fixture at Anfield, ultimately losing to a late Virgil van Dijk goal. The team has managed only one clean sheet in their last 16 Champions League matches and has lost on each of their last five visits to England.
Transfer speculation involving forward Julian Alvarez, who missed training due to illness after learning he would not be allowed to join Barcelona, proved unhelpful. Alvarez is unlikely to start, as is Jonathan David, who joined on loan from Juventus on 1 September and has made only two substitute appearances. Simeone expects both players to feature at some point in the game.
Liverpool secured Andoni Iraola’s first win since replacing Arne Slot with a 2-0 victory over Ipswich on Friday.