Koke believes that Atletico Madrid are “well prepared” for their midweek clash at Barcelona, citing their improving pace and physicality.
Diego Simeone’s men travel to the Camp Nou on Wednesday night hoping to continue their good early-season form, winning their last three games on the bounce. The latest victory came on Saturday, as Atletico thumped Sporting Gijon 5-0 at the Vicente Calderon, closing the gap on Barcelona in La Liga.
However the Spanish champions had earlier thrashed Leganes 5-1, bouncing back from their shock defeat to Alaves last weekend. Luis Enrique’s men have looked in formidable form, further enhanced by their impressive Champions League display on Tuesday night, as they dismantled Celtic 7-0 at the Camp Nou.
For Koke though, he’s quietly confident that Atletico can upset Barca yet again, believing his teammates have the desire to notch their fourth victory in a row.
“This must continue – we haven’t done anything yet, we are just starting and now play Barcelona,” the 24-year-old told Marca (via Goal). “We need all the enthusiasm in the world to bring back three points. It is a very difficult game against one of the best teams in the world, but we have the desire to compete and win there.
“It has been a very good week with three wins. Our pace is increasing with each game and we are very well prepared physically. The midfield has felt good, I think also the [Sporting] game was a bit easy at first, because we were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes. We felt comfortable and were pressing well in the midfield.”
An ever-present for Atletico this term, Koke has scored one goal and created 14 chances in four La Liga appearances, with a shot accuracy of 50% and an average pass accuracy of 82%. Simeone’s men sit sixth on eight points, just one behind Barca in second.
Following Wednesday’s clash, next up for Atletico is a home game with Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday, before taking on Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
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