Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Diego Simeone was delighted for Julian Alvarez after the Atletico Madrid striker broke his goalscoring duck for the season.
Alvarez, who wanted to leave Atletico in the summer transfer window, netted his first goal of the campaign in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Stuttgart on Tuesday.
Jamie Leweling opened the scoring at MHPArena, but Alvarez restored parity early in the second half, brilliantly scooping a left-footed finish into the top corner after meeting Ademola Lookman’s centre.
Alvarez now has 26 Champions League goals, which is the outright fourth most by an Argentinian player, behind Lionel Messi (129), Sergio Aguero (41) and Lautaro Martinez (27).Morten Hjulmand’s 64th-minute red card made matters more difficult for Atletico, but Simeone was thrilled for Alvarez, who was jeered by the club’s fans earlier this season.
“He scored a fantastic goal, I’m really happy for him,” Simeone said of Alvarez.
“We need him to get to where we want to be.”
Julian tied the game https://t.co/P9cZbGqEcg
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) October 20, 2026
Atletico have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 away Champions League games, shipping a total of 23 goals in those matches.
However, Simeone felt that, after a sluggish start, his team showed their mettle, especially after Hjulmand’s dismissal.
“I think what we saw at the end of the first half and during the second, both with 11 and 10 players, is who we are: competitive, hardworking, humble, with many players who make great efforts,” he said.
“We’re trying to build towards the goals the club wants.
“With the [Stuttgart] goal, the team improved. That’s normal, it made us react. The team started to show signs of being in the game. We knew the goal was coming, and with the sending-off, we had to readjust.”
Atletico have taken four points from their first three Champions League outings this term. They host Bayern Munich in their next fixture.
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