Diego Simeone admits ‘no justification’ for Atletico Madrid start

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has admitted that he has no excuse that will serve fans well when it comes to their start to the season. Los Colchoneros are already seven points adrift of arch rivals Real Madrid, having lost their opening game against Espanyol, and taken two draws against relegation candidates Elche and Alaves.

Simeone had no desire to sugarcoat the situation, and admitted that his side deserved the criticism that they have received. However he rejected the idea that Atletico were already out of the title race. 

“We were ten behind Barcelona [last year] and in December we were first. Football is ever-changing. We accept criticism, which is fair because we haven’t scored the points we could have, but we have to find the team, improve on what we haven’t done well, and emphasize what we’ve done well. Not everything is bad,” he told Cadena Cope.

‘There is no justification’ – Simeone

Simeone did stick up for his side’s performances, which he did not feel were as concerning as their points total.

“There’s no justification for the two points out of nine. We didn’t play as badly as we’ve done in the past, and we have fewer points.”

Ahead of the La Liga season, majority shareholder and CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin told the press that Atletico would be aiming for a title.

“I always have the desire for a title. We’ve always sought it, no matter who it is against, we want to win, and winning means winning titles. Now, talking about winning titles wouldn’t be good for those of us who are Atletico fans; it would be focusing on improving the team.”

“When you’re small, you have to walk to start running. We’re in the process of walking because we got two points out of nine. Of course I want to win titles. We’re on the path we need to be on. When I arrived, Atletico won the league in 1995-96 and we repeated the feat in 1914-15 and 2021-22, and it’s a good time for that gap to start going down.”

🇦🇷🔴⚪️ Question: “Giuliano or Julián Álvarez?”

Diego Simeone: “Julián”

“Bellingham or Julián?”

Simeone: “Julián”

“Salah or Julián?”

Simeone: “Julián”

“Raphinha or Julián?”

Simeone: “Also Julián”

“Palmer or Julián?”

Simeone: “Julián”

“Dembélé or Julián?”

Simeone: “I… pic.twitter.com/lGzsko7QVi

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) September 10, 2025

Simeone rejects ‘comfort zone’ idea at Atletico Madrid

Rightly or wrongly. Simeone’s tenure has been questioned by much of the media over recent years, wondering if it might be time for a change at the Metropolitano. El Cholo rejected the idea that he was ‘bulletproof’ in his position though.

“I don’t feel that way; football is football. The most normal thing with coaches is to change, but I’ve had something unusual happen to me.”

Nor did he see any truth in the idea that Atletico were comfortable coming third, rather than challenging for the title.

“I know we have to win because if we want to keep growing, we have to win again. It’s time to win, we have to win. I try not to get complacent or relax. I’m not happy about finishing third, although third place is important for the club. If we hadn’t finished third for thirteen years, we wouldn’t be what we are today.”