'We need his goals' - Marcos Llorente admits Atletico Madrid are desperate for Julian Alvarez to shine after dismal Athletic Club defeat

Alvarez returns in heavy defeat

Llorente told ESPN that Atletico Madrid must support Alvarez after the club suffered a shock 3-0 LaLiga defeat at San Mames. Alvarez came on as a second-half substitute with the visitors already two goals down, marking his first appearance since the summer transfer window closed. The forward had been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, but Atletico Madrid refused to negotiate a deal.

Speaking after the match on Saturday, Llorente emphasised the importance of integrating Alvarez back into the starting lineup. "He [Julian] is a very important player for us," Llorente said. "He knows it. He'll come in little by little, and the sooner the better, because we need his goals. We have to support him so he's at 100% soon."

Hancko backs teammate to shine

Atletico Madrid started the game without a recognised centre-forward, before introducing Alvarez with just over half an hour remaining. Defender David Hancko echoed Llorente's sentiments, highlighting the positive signs the substitute showed despite the difficult circumstances of playing against a low block. Hancko noted that the entire squad have backed Alvarez to succeed this season. "You could see [Alvarez] was doing well, he wanted to take [the game] on himself," Hancko told ESPN.

"In a low block, of course he's going to lose some balls. But you could see those sparks, moments when he turned and shot with his left foot. He makes a difference for us in the team. I'm really happy he stayed. The whole team, we support him, we're going to stay behind him. We need him and I think he needs us as well."

Second half collapse costs Atletico

The visitors were undone in a devastating two-minute spell shortly after the break. Nico Williams and Robert Navarro scored in the 46th and 48th minutes, completely shifting the momentum before Oihan Sancet added a third late on. The rapid collapse left the team stunned, with players questioning their lack of focus immediately after half-time.

Llorente admitted that those crucial five minutes completely destroyed their game plan. "We threw away the game in the first five minutes of the second half," Llorente explained. "Those five minutes killed us, and then we weren't able to put them under pressure and score a goal to scare them a bit... It can't happen, because we had a good first half. We have to correct it and look at the causes."

Crucial fixtures await Simeone's side

Atletico Madrid have little time to dwell on this disappointing domestic result as they face a demanding schedule in the coming days. The club travel to England to take on Liverpool at Anfield in a challenging Champions League clash. Following that European fixture, Atletico will return to LaLiga action with a tough away match against Real Sociedad.