Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has praised Julian Alvarez for his humility after the Argentine forward publicly apologised to the club’s supporters following his decisive display against Deportivo La Coruña.

Alvarez scored the only goal in Atletico’s 1-0 victory, using his post-match comments to address earlier remarks he made during the World Cup about his desire to join FC Barcelona.

“I wanted to apologise to our fans for my words during the World Cup. It was a mistake on my part, both in the way I said it and the timing,” Alvarez admitted.

“I understand why the fans are angry. If I were a fan, I would have been angry too.”

Speaking to reporters after the game, Simeone stood by his forward and commended him for having the courage to acknowledge his mistake and address the supporters directly.

“I value very much the moment of asking for forgiveness because it is not easy,” Simeone said, as quoted by Marca.

“Julian is a humble, hard-working boy who loves his teammates, and I appreciate his apology… Life develops and I appreciate this. It is welcome.”

The Atletico boss also highlighted Alvarez’s significance to the team, expressing satisfaction with his performance and the supporters’ reaction to his winning goal.

“He had a fantastic game, the fans celebrated his goal like they do a team goal, and Julián played brilliantly. We need Julián in this form.”