Cholo backs Julián and reveals who he’d have given the Ballon d’Or to | OneFootball

El Cholo spoke after Atlético de Madrid's defeat at the hands of Barcelona, where he backed La Araña and praised the Brazilian striker.

Atlético de Madrid fell 3-1 on their visit to Barcelona on matchday 19 of La Liga, a defeat at Camp Nou where Julián Álvarez did not have one of his best nights and was singled out by the Spanish press; which sparked a passionate defense from Diego Simeone, who took the opportunity to shower Raphinha with praise.

When asked about the quiet game from the world champion with the Argentina National Team, El Cholo was blunt in his response, backing the native of Calchín: “Julián has performed at a very high level since he arrived, but he’s human and can also have a bad game, it’s something that happens to everyone. You can have a bad day at work and it can happen to him too because he’s a person like all of us”“.

Another point in the press conference was his comments regarding Raphinha, whom he had previously praised and who scored the equalizer to make it 1-1, kickstarting Barcelona’s comeback, along with a remark that did not go unnoticed: “I love him. He plays everywhere, wherever you put him. And he scores beautiful goals. I don’t know how he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or. I’d choose him”, he said, deepening the controversy regarding the coronation of Ousmané Dembelé in which the Brazilian finished in fifth place.

Regarding the flow of the match, Simeone tried to see the glass half full with imminent challenges ahead for his squad. “I don’t dwell on the streak, I focus on today’s match. I leave happy with the game, we competed very well against a team that plays very well. They found ways to hurt us. We could have done better defensively, but they’re very good. In the second half we had more chances where we lacked the finishing touch that sometimes just isn’t there. The 3-1 scoreline might not reflect what actually happened in the match. I leave with many positives for what’s to come”, he explained.

“The result is fair, they scored three goals and we scored one”, he reiterated regarding his team’s lack of goals in their visit to the Catalan side, which moves them further away from the top of the standings.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.