Atletico Madrid squandered a lead in late 2-1 defeat to Espanyol in La Liga opener
Then saw Rafa Mir cancel out Alexander Sorloth's early strike in a 1-1 draw with Elche
Diego Simeone believes there was a clear improvement in Atleti's second performance and that results will follow
Diego Simeone is certain his Atletico Madrid team are on the right path despite a winless start to the season in La Liga, following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Elche.
Atleti have been busy in the transfer market after four trophyless seasons, bringing in 10 new signings, but they have made a slow start to the campaign.
They squandered a lead in a late 2-1 defeat to Espanyol in their opening match, then saw Rafa Mir cancel out Alexander Sorloth's early strike in their first home game of 2025-26.
Atleti were the better team for long periods, attempting 13 shots to Elche's six and amassing 1.74 expected goals (xG) to their visitors' 0.57, but they could not find a winner.
However, Simeone believes there was a clear improvement in their second performance and is confident results will soon turn in their favour.
"I have to hold onto the fact that the team is improving. We have young players and we have to let them grow," the Argentine said.
"I think that from the Espanyol game to today, there was an improvement. It is clear that the result, which is what matters to all of us, is not there.
"We have to be patient and keep looking for the right path. When we become more clinical, we will get more points.
"It's true that we drew and that we're not happy, we had to win, but we're on the path we have to go through."
Atleti have now dropped points in five of their last eight league games against newly promoted opponents, winning three, drawing three and losing two.
Los Colchoneros visit Alaves for their third game of the season on Saturday, having already slipped five points behind defending champions Barcelona.
