Diego Simeone has reiterated Atletico Madrid are "a work in progress" after his side received more criticism.

Atleti returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Real Sociedad at the weekend, but all three of their goals came from the 84th minute onwards.

Simeone's side have won three of their five LaLiga games this season (D1 L1) ahead of a clash with Osasuna on Wednesday, leaving them fifth in the table, though they are already five points behind defending champions Barcelona.

Atleti have lost nine of their 25 LaLiga games in 2026 (W13 D3), their highest number of defeats in a calendar year in the competition with Simeone as head coach; the last time they suffered as many defeats in a single year in LaLiga was in 2011 (15, Simeone only took charge in December).

However, after a summer of change, Simeone has urged critics to give his side time to grow as a team.

"We're used to the negativity from a lot of people; as soon as there's a chance of criticism, it's there. It's part of growing and improving, and we welcome it," said Simeone.

"The team is a work in progress. This summer, seven players left and five came in, and there are four or five academy players. It's not as simple as it seems to organise all this.

"We have a competitive team. We'll improve as we play. That's how I feel: we're a work in progress, we need time, which doesn't exist in football."

Osasuna are 11th in LaLiga after five games with seven points to their name, though they have struggled in recent matches.

After starting their campaign with two wins and a draw, they have lost 5-2 against Alaves and 2-0 versus Espanyol.