Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has announced his squad for the trip to England to face Liverpool in the first round of the Champions League.
Injuries have severely affected Simeone’s squad, with five key players missing for the Rojiblancos’ match against the Reds, a major blow to Atletico’s chances of taking home the three points.
The most notable absence for Atletico is undoubtedly their top scorer, Julian Alvarez, who suffered an injury in the recent La Liga match against Villarreal and left the match at halftime. He has yet to fully recover.
The other absentees are Cardoso, who injured his left ankle during Monday’s training session. Almada is also out with a muscle injury, and Baena is still recovering from appendicitis surgery.
Hanko, Atletico’s new signing last summer, is also injured and will miss the Liverpool match. The nature of the injury or the length of his absence remains unknown.
Simeone was forced to include several young players in his squad for the Liverpool match, such as Algerian-born Rayan Belaid and Taoufik Sidou, while retaining established names such as Griezmann, Sorloth, Llorente, and Galán.
