Diego Simeone praised the performances of Julián Álvarez and USMNT international Johnny Cardoso in Atlético Madrid's 2-0 Champions League win over Manchester United on Tuesday, saying Álvarez is "getting closer to the player we want to see."
Álvarez started and played 71 minutes at the Metropolitano, while Cardoso impressed in his 90 minutes in the heart of the Atlético midfield and had a first-half goal disallowed for a Marcos Llorente handball.
Álvarez received a mixture of applause and whistles from the home fans -- some of whom still haven't forgiven him for seeking to leave the club in the summer -- when he was withdrawn in the second half.
"What the fans do is related to what the players give," Simeone said, when asked about the reception for Álvarez, in his post-match news conference.
"They want to see the best of the players, and Julian is giving that. He had the chance to score today. He's getting closer to the player we want to see.
"We need him."
Cardoso had an injury-hit debut season with Atlético in 2025-26, but has now made four consecutive starts in all competitions, either side of the international break.
"He's in a very good moment," Simeone said. "In the game against Real Sociedad [on Sept. 13], he came on, and he began to play at a high level. We need that player, that's the player the club went to sign."
Simeone said Atlético were worthy winners against United -- who are struggling this season under his counterpart Michael Carrick -- after going ahead through Pablo Barrios inside the first minute
"We were lucky to start the game on the front foot, with the first goal," Simeone said. "It was a nice move. We knew they'd press high, [United] do that well, but we knew that if we beat that first press we could get into important positions. We knew we could hurt them on the wings.
"We had chances to go further ahead on the scoreboard. They had one dangerous chance in the first half, but we had a better game, we had more chances. The team was always looking for more."