Diego Simeone says Atletico Madrid “expect more” from Fernando Torres and Jackson Martinez ahead of Sunday’s La Liga encounter with Valencia.
The pair have scored just four goals between each other this season, with Jackson coming in at €35m from Porto, and the Coach believes their inability to consistenly find the back of the net is a confidence issue.
“I expect a tough match against opponents who have formed a great team and compete well,” he said at a Press conference.
“Valencia are dangerous on both an individual and collective level.
“I’m not thinking beyond how to win this game. The good thing about this team is that we’ve scored a lot of goals. That speaks highly of the squad.
“We expect more from Torres and Jackson, but they’ll get that striker’s confidence back once they start scoring goals regularly.
“[Antoine Griezmann] joined us as a winger but feels more comfortable and better as a striker.
“A competitive squad gives you alternatives, which is good, but it also forces you to leave good players out.
“There are some positions which are more stable and others where the competition is at its maximum.
“Oliver [Torres] scored in our last match, I really liked Saul [Niguez’s] performance in the first half and [Yannick] Carrasco also did well.
“It’s clear that the top sides haven’t picked up as many points as in previous seasons, but it’s also true that they’re suffering from major injuries.
“If those players come back then the League will be more even.”
