Koke Calls for Calm Around Julián Álvarez After Anfield Defeat
Koke stepped off the pitch at Anfield with a 2-1 defeat to digest and a very different fire to put out.
Yes, Atlético had just been turned over by Liverpool in the Champions League, undone by goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister after taking the lead. But the captain’s mind was fixed on the storm swirling around Julián Álvarez.
The Argentine had finally completed his first full 90 minutes of the season. He started, he stayed on, and he made an instant mark, sliding the pass for Marcos Llorente to open the scoring. For a brief spell, it felt like a reset – Álvarez decisive, Atlético ahead, the noise fading.
It didn’t last.
Liverpool wrestled control of the game, hit back through Szoboszlai and Mac Allister, and turned the night on its head. When it was over, the questions weren’t just about the defending or the missed chances. They were about Álvarez. Again.
Koke has had enough.
“We’re tired [of it],” he told Movistar after the final whistle, his frustration obvious. “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.”
A summer that never really ended
The “tiresome summer” he referenced has defined Álvarez’s season before it even began. The forward pushed hard for a move to Barcelona during the transfer window, only to see Atlético refuse to sanction the deal. The fallout was sharp.
Sections of the fanbase bristled at his stance. Questions over his commitment lingered. Every appearance, every omission, every gesture became another talking point. Instead of easing off once the window closed, the scrutiny followed him into September.
At Anfield, he finally had a footballing answer. A clever assist, a tireless shift, a reminder of why so many clubs wanted him in the first place. Yet the narrative kept circling back to what happened in July and August, not what he produced on a wet Wednesday night on Merseyside.
Inside the dressing room, the message is different.
Llorente backs Álvarez
Llorente, who finished Álvarez’s pass to put Atlético in front, didn’t hesitate to back his teammate when he spoke to reporters.
“He’s a very important player for us,” he said. “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 Julián, he’s our player, a teammate. He’s important and he makes the difference.”
Those words echo Koke’s stance. Whatever was said or done in the summer, the leaders in the squad have drawn a line. For them, Álvarez is not a transfer saga. He is a forward they believe can tilt games in their favour.
Now the hard part begins
With the window shut and the rumours parked until at least January, Álvarez’s task is clear: repair the bond with the Atlético supporters and turn the conversation back to goals, assists and performances.
Atlético, currently sixth in La Liga with two wins, one draw and one defeat, return to Spain needing a reaction after their European setback. Real Sociedad await in their next league outing, a fixture that rarely allows for half-measures or half-hearted displays.
For Álvarez, it is another test, but of a different kind. Not a medical, not a negotiation, not a rumour. A football match. A chance to keep his place in the starting XI, to build on the assist at Anfield, and to start burying the noise of a summer that refused to end.
If he does that, the question shifts from “Will he leave?” to something far more interesting for Atlético: “How far can he take this team?”
