Jurado spots green shoots at Atlético

Club Atlético de Madrid midfielder José Manuel Jurado has stressed that the time has come for Los Rojiblancos to reverse their UEFA Champions League fortunes by going all out for victory against Group D leaders Chelsea FC at the Vicente Calderón.

New leader
A 4-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Matchday 3 condemned Atlético to their second group loss and left the Spanish side bottom of the standings with just one point and no goals scored. With Quique Sánchez Flores since drafted in as coach, Jurado believes the team must now show their true colours. "The spirit in the group has changed and you can see we are more tight-knit," said the 23-year-old. "Things seem different now. Against Chelsea, we'll be thinking only about winning throughout what is going to be a very important game."

Confidence boost
Since returning from a season-long loan at RCD Mallorca, Jurado has been ever present in what has been a difficult domestic campaign for Atlético, who find themselves in the Liga relegation zone after just one success in nine games. Explaining that a different mindset is needed in European competition, Jurado continued: "This is a change in competition for us. It's a big Champions League match and we'll be going into it filled with eagerness and the hope of doing well. This competition can help us to raise our morale so it's important for us is to play well and to win."

Focus needed
Along with a convincing victory against Atlético, opponents Chelsea have beaten FC Porto and APOEL FC without conceding and travelled to the Spanish capital on the back of a 4-0 weekend triumph at Bolton Wanderers FC which cemented their place at the Premier League summit. "Chelsea are a very strong team, one of the best in Europe," added Jurado. "We will have to be switched on during every minute of the 90 if we want to win."