Atletico Madrid suffer major injury blow

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Atletico Madrid beat Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday ahead of their Champions League trip to Liverpool but suffered four injury setbacks.

Diego Simeone’s side will travel to Anfield on Wednesday night for an 8pm BST kickoff in the opening match of the revamped Champions League group stage.

While Arne Slot’s Liverpool have made a perfect start to the campaign, Atletico have struggled for consistency.

The Reds have won all four league games this season, beating Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Arsenal, and Burnley.

Saturday’s win was only Atletico’s first in four LaLiga matches, with goals from Pablo Barrios and Nicolas Gonzalez lifting them to 11th place before their journey to Merseyside.

However, the three points were overshadowed by injuries to Julian Alvarez (knee), David Hancko (ankle) and Robin Le Normand (back), while goalscorer Gonzalez also limped off with cramp.

Alvarez had to be replaced at half-time after damaging his knee in the process of assisting Barrios’ opener.

“Until he wakes up tomorrow and gets through his first few hours after the discomfort he had,” Simeone told reporters on Saturday.

“We hope it’s nothing and we trust he’ll be back in top condition as soon as possible.”

Atletico Madrid, already missing Jose Maria Gimenez, Thiago Almada, and Alex Baena, travel to Anfield on Wednesday night to face an in-form Liverpool.

According to El Chiringuito TV, Alvarez is struggling with knee discomfort and will not travel with the squad to Anfield.

Since the start of last season, Atlético Madrid’s main threat has been Julian Alvarez.

The Argentina and World Cup winner has scored 30 goals and provided eight assists following his move from Manchester City in the summer of 2024.

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