Simeone was delighted at full time, particularly with Alvarez easing some of the pressure on his shoulders, following a mixed start in madrid

Atletico Madrid’s return to La Liga action triggered a flood of positives for Diego Simeone.

Los Rojiblancos eased to a 3-0 home win against Valencia in the Spanish capital as Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez netted their first club goals.

Another clean sheet stretches that run to four, with all five league games unbeaten, and the former is their best defensive record since winning the title in 2020/21.

Simeone was delighted at full time, particularly with Alvarez easing some of the pressure on his shoulders, following a mixed start in madrid

A first goal is crucial for strikers to adapt and Simeone is confident he can now kick on and enjoy a strong season in the Atletico Madrid attack.

“The way his teammates celebrated and the crowd cheered his goal. We needed him to score, so he would be calmer, and hopefully it will be the first of many”, as per reports from Diario AS.

“Strikers live on goals. He appeared at the final moment of the match. He was in the right place and he made the most of it. From now on, he’ll keep growing.”

Next up for Atletico Madrid is the start of their UEFA Champions League campaign at home to RB Leipzig on September 19.

Barcelona kept up their spectacular start to the season on Sunday, securing a very impressive 4-1 victory over Catalan neighbours Girona. The result re-establishes their four-point lead at the top of La Liga, and it is their sixth win out of six since the campaign begun last

It was a dominating performance from Barcelona, and understandably, Hansi Flick was absolutely delighted with his players – he told the media as much when speaking post-match at Montilivi.

“I like our pressing. It has been very intense from the first minute. We deserved the win and the result. It’s great to see how the team performs. But as you know, I work with them everyday and I can see the quality.”Flick: “Olmo? We have to wait and see tomorrow, our doctor takes care of him, and we will see. We are not sure. Hopefully it’s not serious, but I can’t say anything else.”