Atlético de Madrid visits Barcelona for the Copa del Rey with Julián Álvarez on fire: he already has better numbers than at River and Manchester City

Julian Alvarez is one of the names of the moment in Spanish football, with Atletico Madrid excited by his goals in the terrible run of competitions that lie ahead in the Copa del Rey, Champions League and La Liga , the three competitions in which he remains alive and confident. Can Cholo Simeone and the Argentines dethrone Barcelona and Real Madrid ? And another, more uncomfortable question: has Pep Guardiola already regretted letting him go from Manchester City at the start of the season?

Never before, not even at River , has Julián been as on fire as he has been in these months of adventure in the city of Madrid, where he scores a goal every 3.68 shots, and has scored nine more goals than expected, numbers that could be stretched in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, this Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., Argentine time, against Barcelona (broadcast exclusively on Movistar+).

"I'm very happy personally and I hope it helps the team a lot more," said the Cordovan with his usual calm, scoring a double in Saturday's 0-3 win against Valencia at Mestalla, which keeps Atlético one point behind Barca and Merengue, in a stage of the year in which practically everything will be decided.

Of his 70 shots so far, 19 have been goals. One success every 3.68 attempts, which exceeds the 4.8 he averaged at River, with 54 goals in 263 attempts, and the 5.8 at Manchester City, when he accumulated 36 celebrations after 209 shots.

At Atlético he also improved his shooting performance on goal: one in two shots go between the posts, better than at River and City.

El Araña is a value appreciated by everyone but especially by Diego Simeone . "We are excited about his present, his work, but, above all, by the way he is. He is a humble, noble, hard-working boy. He won absolutely everything and he is 25 years old. And he continues in the same line of that humility, which allows him, obviously, to be different from everyone else," said the coach.

The numbers confirm it. He has already scored 19 goals in this campaign over 38 games (he has played in all of his team's matches so far this season), three in the last three matches and 15 in the 24 games since the team's recovery after a defeat against Betis on October 27, when Cholo's cycle seemed to be in crisis: 20 victories, three draws and only one defeat since then .

Even so, Julián is going for more. It is not yet his highest scoring season , surpassed by the 26 goals in 56 games with River Plate in 2020-21, nor is it his best average , because in 2021-22 he scored a goal every 119 minutes when now he needs 130. It is the second in both cases.

However, it is above the 2018-19 campaigns (a goal every 243 minutes), 2019-20 (every 162) and 2020-21 (every 149 minutes) with the Núñez club and those of 2022-23 and 2023-24 with Manchester City, every 148 and 183 minutes, respectively, all according to data from Be Soccer Pro .

The attacker, who won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar 2022, has scored 13 of his goals with his right foot, five with his left foot and one, the 0-2 he scored in Valencia, with his head, after a perfect cross from Antoine Griezmann. Julián scored just one goal from outside the area: the free kick against Sparta Prague in the Champions League that started a crucial 0-6 away win.

Julián starts the matches: his goals were fundamental for seven victories and two draws this season for the red-and-white team. His partners when it came to assists were Antoine Griezmann, with four, Giuliano Simeone and Ángel Correa, with two, and the remaining ones from Clement Lenglet, Rodrigo de Paul and Samuel Lino.

The semi-finals of the Copa del Rey begin this Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium Lluís Companys. Atlético won their last visit there, 1-2, with a late goal from Alexander Sorloth that turned the game around. Julian Alvarez played the entire match, which was almost always in favour of the Catalans, and although he did not score, he was fundamental in both games, as well as showing his constant sacrifice.

He did score against Barcelona in a friendly against Manchester City: he scored one of the goals in a 3-3 draw in the 2022 preseason, a year to remember. Will Juilián experience another one in 2025?

With information from Agencies