Iván Vargas: 'Atleti play better with Jonathan David than Julián'

Iván Vargas does not mince his words: Atlético have played better games this season with Jonathan David than with Julián, who drops deep to receive the ball but does not make the difference. Walter Zimmermann adds that he sometimes acts like a funnel.

In the middle of a debate about the forward line for the Barça game, Iván Vargas acknowledges that Simeone knows best because he sees the players every day of the week, but he puts forward his theory: Atlético have played better games this season with Jonathan David than with Julián Álvarez.

Vargas admits that Julián is potentially the better footballer and that his career speaks for itself, but he argues that he has yet to prove it this season. He points out that Julián is the star, that offers for him were turned down and that he is worth a fortune, yet he still insists: the team play better without him.

Walter Zimmermann notes that Julián sometimes acts like a funnel, because there is nobody ahead of him and he lacks a focal point up front. Vargas expands on the idea: he drops deep to receive because he needs plenty of touches on the ball, but when he gets it he does not change the play, he does not thread the killer pass, he does not make the difference. That is why he doubts Julián should be an automatic starter in every match, including the one against Barça. He hopes Julián scores a hat-trick, he concludes, but personally he cannot see it.