Atletico Madrid looked as if they had found the answer to Kieran Trippier’s departure on the right flank midway through last season, as Nahuel Molina started to fly down the wing. Yet the Argentine has struggled to put that form together this season.
“It is very difficult to maintain the same level all the time, I think there are few players who have done it. Obviously I work so that it does not happen to me or that it happens to me as little as possible, having games where one does not feel comfortable, you don’ feel completely confident. I try to quickly get that out of me, what I feel, to always try to be good for the team,” he told Relevo.
After Atletico qualfied for the Champions League quarter-finals against Inter, Saul Niguez put out a public statement acknowledging his poor form, and promising to keep giving his all to improve. Molina also admitted that his form affects him mentally, and nobody is more aware of it than he is.
“The way I play doesn’t change, it shows in how I feel when I’ve missed easy or consecutive passes, when you put a cross in that you know you shouldn’t have. These are things that raise alarm, in my case, I don’t know about others People, if you do well, they will applaud you, and if you put the cross in badly, they will tell you to play it better, that is logical and it has to be like that. You realise when you play badly and when you play well. You have to be self-critical and know that not everything is always going to turn out well for you.”
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He revealed that he speaks regularly with the coaching staff about his form, and how to improve.
“They are talks that always happen, we live together practically all day, they can happen on a plane, in the dressing room, at a barbecue like today (Friday), they are talks that happen. You can see it, I for one feel it and that’s very evident in me, but I always have talks with the coaching staff and they encourage me, I have their trust. I’m still young, I really want to learn.”
Despite being a more natural option as a right wing-back, Molina has often been left on the bench for Marcos Llorente this season. It appears as though Diego Simeone has more faith in Llorente, but no doubt they will be working to get Molina back to his best, as he opens up the pitch much more naturally, and allows Llorente to play in midfield.
