Atlético fans turn on Julián Álvarez amid anti-Barça chants in 2-2 Villarreal draw | OneFootball

Julián Álvarez was relentlessly booed by Atlético Madrid supporters at the Metropolitano during a 2-2 draw with Villarreal, with abusive chants aimed at Barça and Catalunya. Not even Diego Simeone’s authority could quell the unrest, and Álvarez did not join the post-match applause.

Simeone said the club had decided Álvarez would not approach the fans with his team-mates after full time. It was his first home game since he publicly expressed a wish to leave to fulfil his dream, which the report framed as a move to Barcelona he had not stated openly.

Four separate waves of whistles marked his afternoon. The first arrived when the stadium announcer read out his name among the substitutes, then more followed during his half-time warm-up and again early in the second half, alongside obscene chants telling him to go and insulting Barça and Catalunya.

Álvarez was set to come on in minute 59, but after Pubill scored he put his bib back on. He entered after Gerard Moreno levelled from the penalty spot, and his arrival drew the loudest jeers.

Once on the pitch, hostilities eased as the crowd backed a side reduced by Le Normand’s red card. At full time Álvarez headed alone for the tunnel amid fresh abuse, with the club having instructed him not to take part in the usual salute. The episode leaves Atlético, and Gil Marín in particular, to decide whether there is a solution that does not involve his departure.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo

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