Atletico crippled by 'anxiety' from missed chances – Simeone

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone said anxiety prevented his team from scoring in their goalless draw at Villarreal.

Simeone’s Atletico failed to win for the third consecutive La Liga match following Friday’s 0-0 stalemate away to the Yellow Submarine.

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It was another toothless showing by sixth-placed Atletico, who have only scored 16 goals through as many league games this season, as they struggle to find a talisman in the attack.

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“It is normal that when you generate so many chances and do not convert, anxiety appears,” Simeone told reporters. “And more anxiety, less precision. 

“When anxiety disappears, tranquillity and precision will come from the players we have. Today we had clear occasions, Joao Felix and [Renan] Lodi’s, but we did not define them correctly.”

It’s the sixth league match this season that Atletico have drawn a blank and they have only scored more than goal on four occasions from their 16 La Liga games.

Only Alvaro Morata (five) has scored more than two league goals for Atletico this season, with Felix, Diego Costa and Vitolo all striking twice.

The departure of Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona in the summer appears to be hurting the capital club, as the French attacker hit the back of the net 15 times in the league last campaign.

Atletico could end the weekend seven points adrift of third-placed Sevilla, who travel to Osasuna, and eight behind leaders Barcelona, who host Mallorca.

“At the moment, what worries me is to win a game and everything will be looked after in a different way,” Simeone said.

Atletico captain Koke added: “In front of goal we have no fortune, precision or I do not know what is missing. To win you have to score goals.

“The team defends well, gives everything, but we need to be more precise to all, the strikers, the midfielders, the defenders…”

Atletico face an important Champions League clash at home against Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday, with anything but a win putting their qualification for the knockout stage at risk.

They currently sit on seven points, one clear of Bayer Leverkusen, with the Bundesliga side welcoming already-qualified Juventus to Germany.

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