Llorente: Atletico Madrid has the ability to compete for the championship, and it is because of believing this derby that is so good

Hupu September 29th news At 3 am on October 1st, in the second round of the 2025-26 Champions League stage, Atletico Madrid faced Frankfurt at the Metropolitan Stadium. Atletico Madrid defender Llorent attended the press conference before the game.

You have performed well at the beginning of the season. Are you making some adjustments or the result of your previous efforts:

My team and I have not changed anything. I also disagree with how impressive my performance was at the start. I struggled a little at first, but now I am really happy to see this performance myself. I also have more confidence in the game to improve my performance.

You have 26 games played all over the game, and your physical condition looks very good, keeps scoring goals, and scores twice at Anfield. The new national team roster will be announced on Friday. Do you think you are worthy of entering the national team with these results:

I don't know, I am not qualified to analyze who is worthy of whom or not. I do this for clubs, coaches and teammates, and it's my job. It's true that I feel good now, but I don't care about the national team's issues.

Is the success of this weekend a question of attitude? Will we play Frankfurt with the same attitude:

Obviously we all want to maintain our attitude and fighting spirit during the derby. This is the direction we have to follow. The game was played very well and everyone was very focused throughout the process. The team has always done a good job. Although the season started with some doubts, we have always believed in ourselves and focused on doing what we should do. So the record is naturally a natural thing, which makes us feel very satisfied, so of course we must continue to maintain it.

You said before that after the away game against Liverpool, if you increase your intensity, you have the ability to defeat any opponent. We also saw what happened in the game against Real Madrid the day before yesterday. Do you really believe it in the locker room? If this continues, Atletico Madrid will have the ability to fight for all the championships:

Yes, in fact, I think if we really don't believe it, we wouldn't be able to perform like this in the Derby that day. And if someone questioned before, I think after such a game, it would be more obvious that when we show that intensity and fighting spirit, we still have so many good players, everyone is doing very well, and we still have many new players, and they are all adapting, which is not easy. We are all working hard and everything will be fine. The Frankfurt coach said they had to put in great effort to withstand Atletico Madrid's oppression. Considering that your game interval is so short, can you still maintain this intensity tomorrow:

Let's take a look tomorrow. We are indeed working in this direction. There are indeed many games and few rest time, but that's the case and we need to adapt to it. We are also working hard to recover in the past two days, trying to get back to our best form on Tuesday night to welcome the game. The team has recovered and is full of energy and wants to contribute another exciting game.

You are not only performing well now, but also showing your leadership. In the 54th minute of the last game, you just completed a clearance, and then the intensity did not drop at all, and you immediately competed for an outbound ball. What exactly did the team do to let us see such a strong leader version of Llorent:

I am more using my energy and dedication to infect other teammates than being a leader. I think these things are the most basic. I think whether it is teammates on the court or on the sidelines, if the energy is the right one, the team will be stronger. I have always tried to convey these things myself, whether through my performance during the game or cheering and supporting my teammates after they played a wonderful round. I think this is very important and I am very happy that the outside world can see these things.