Koke urges media to let Alvarez focus after Anfield loss
Julian Alvarez finally got his full 90 minutes. Instead of talking about his football, the noise around him only grew louder.
The Argentine forward started and completed the match as Atletico Madrid fell 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday night. He wasted no time making his mark, sliding a precise ball through for Marcos Llorente to put Los Rojiblancos in front.
For a few minutes, the storyline was simple: Alvarez back in the XI, Alvarez decisive, Atletico striking first at one of Europe’s most hostile grounds.
Then the match turned.
Dominik Szoboszlai dragged Liverpool level, Alexis Mac Allister completed the comeback, and Atletico’s promising night dissolved into another European frustration. On the pitch, the story was about missed chances and a lead surrendered. Off it, the spotlight swung straight back to Alvarez and a summer that refuses to die down.
A summer that won’t go away
Alvarez spent the transfer window pushing hard for a move to Barcelona. Atletico stood firm and blocked the transfer, a stance that kept the player but ignited anger among sections of the fanbase, who questioned his commitment and attitude.
Every appearance since has come with a subplot. Every touch, every run, every grimace has been read as a signal of where his head is.
Koke has had enough.
Speaking to Movistar after the final whistle, the Atletico captain made it clear the dressing room wants the circus to stop.
“We're tired [of it],” Koke said. “We have to leave the boy alone, to let him enjoy himself, to let him do his job and play football. Between all of us, we have to leave him in peace, because it's been a really tiresome summer from [the media]. Let's hope he can be left in peace to do his job.”
No ambiguity. No dressing it up. The captain has drawn a line: Alvarez is here, he’s playing, and he needs space to breathe.
Dressing room closes ranks
Koke wasn’t the only one to step forward.
Llorente, who owed his goal to Alvarez’s sharp assist, underlined just how highly the squad values the forward.
“He's a very important player for us,” Llorente told reporters. “He gave me a marvellous assist. That's what we need. We need him to be right, to be sharp, because he's been a long time without competing.
“He did well, he worked hard, he ran, that's what we need. What I can say is we're with Julian, he's our player, a teammate. He's important and he makes the difference.”
The message from inside the camp is consistent: whatever happened in August stays in August. For Simeone’s players, Alvarez is not a transfer saga. He is a weapon they intend to use.
Nowhere to hide
With the window shut, there are no more escape routes and no more hypothetical moves. Alvarez’s reality is clear: he must repair his relationship with Atletico supporters and do it the hard way, on the pitch.
Anfield offered a glimpse of how that might start. A full 90 minutes. An assist. Visible effort without the ball. It will take more than one performance to shift the mood, but these are the small foundations on which reputations are rebuilt.
Atletico, meanwhile, return to Spain needing a response. They sit sixth in La Liga, with two wins, one draw and one defeat so far. Real Sociedad await in their next league fixture, an opponent capable of punishing any lingering hangover from midweek.
For Alvarez, that match carries a different weight. Retain his place in the starting XI, deliver again, and the narrative slowly changes from “the player who wanted out” to “the forward they can’t do without.”
The summer story is over on paper. Whether the stands at the Metropolitano are ready to turn the page is about to be tested.
