Paco Alcacer: Playing against Atletico Madrid is like a toothache Champions League - Borussia Dortmund vs Atletico The in-form striker opens up

With seven goals in four league matches, Paco Alcacer has certainly settled in quickly at Borussia Dortmund.

He moved from Barcelona in the summer and is thriving with his new team, who take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this Wednesday evening.

He spoke to MARCA about that match, about his move to Germany and about much more.

Have you stopped to consider this start to the season that you're having?

"I've not stopped to think. In the end, this is the work that you have to do every day for the team. It's clear that all of the goals the strikers score are thanks to the players behind, and this is something you think about."

All you've touched has gone in. You've scored seven goals with 13 shots in the Bundesliga and in just 126 minutes. There was also a goal in the Champions League and three with Spain. This is something else...

"It's a matter of playing and of having a good run like I am having. When I joined Barcelona no goals were going in and I had a bad run, but now it's the opposite and everything is working out very well. This, though, won't change me as a person."

Would you have believed this a couple of months ago?

"I could have believed it or not. In the end, it's a matter of looking at the work you do each week so that when you have an opportunity you can do things well. In this case, things are working out well."

Has your form made you think you might have lost the past two years?

"Some may want to think that I might have lost the past two years from their viewpoint, I don't think I've lost two years. In terms of the number of minutes I had it's clear that I'd have liked to play more, but I have improved a lot as a footballer and as a person."

But how can you go from being a star at Valencia to being a backup at Barcelona?

"You do so with the day to day work. That's what there is. There is a coach who decides who plays and who doesn't and you have to adapt to that. The thing that is in your control is training well, improving each day and being prepared for when the person who decides things needs you to be ready to do things well."

Did you feel free upon switching Barcelona for Dortmund?

"The freedom is playing, having minutes and enjoying the profession. I didn't have the minutes at Barcelona that we all want and now I am having them and things are going well."

Does Lionel Messi make those who play alongside him seem less important?

"He may capture the attention, but I also think he makes you a better footballer. In fact, many of the goals I scored at Barcelona were from his passes. He gives you passes that leave you alone in front of the goalkeeper and all you have to do is score. So yes, he does capture the attention, but he makes you a better player."

This isn't the first time you've overcome obstacles. At Valencia it was tough to make a name for yourself and you went on loan to Getafe without managing to start. Then there was the secondary role at Barcelona...

"I come from a family that looks at each day as if it were the last, making sure to enjoy to the maximum and to overcome all obstacles put in your way. It's been like that all my life and I hope it stays like that for the rest of it."

Are we viewing the best Alcacer?

"It's possible, the numbers would say so. But I am clear that I cannot relax at any point. I need to keep getting better alongside the great players that we have here."

Borussia Dortmund have expressed their intention to pay 23 million euros to Barcelona to sign you on a permanent deal. Are you already preparing to settle in Germany?

"My idea is to keep improving footballistically and to keep this season going as it has been so far. It's obvious that tough times will come, as well as simpler ones, but these shouldn't change the idea that is in my head."

You are the top scorer and your team lead the Bundesliga, while having won two out of two in the Champions League. Is Atletico Madrid the big test for you now?

"This is clearly a quite important test to see where we can place ourselves. Things are going well in the league and in the Champions League and now there is a top-level team coming that will demand a lot. We'll try to take as much from this game as possible."

Does it feel like this is the first leg of a two-legged contest to see who tops the group?

"First place in the group will be decided in the final game because this is a competitive group, with major teams and you never know what could happen at any moment of any game. Look at what happened to Atletico last season."

What's more improbable, that you don't score or that Jan Oblak concedes a goal?

"I don't know, we'll see. All that is clear is that each match is its own and anything can happen. There can be a bad bounce from the pitch that is bad for the goalkeeper and it goes in as an own goal or it could happen in front of me and I end up shooting into row Z. You don't know what'll happen in any match."

Having seen Oblak's performance last weekend, does it motivate you?

"There is an extra motivation to try to make sure he doesn't keep this up. There is no doubt that Oblak is a great goalkeeper who hasn't only been great this season, but who has been for several years."

You've played against Atletico Madrid nine times but only won once. Is it like a toothache to play against them?

"A toothache to play against Atletico? Well, yes, totally. They are a team that concede very few goals and they leave few spaces, while they're always very aware of everything. For a striker it's frustrating."

Would you give the Ballon d'Or to Antoine Griezmann?

"The Ballon d'Or has to be for the best player at this moment and it's clear that Messi is the best player in the world."

With the squad Atletico have assembled, there's a debate about whether or not they should be more attacking. How do you see it?

"I think we already have enough to think about when it comes to our own things. We need to focus on ourselves."

Who would you consider to be favourites?

"It's clear that Atletico are a great team and a great club, a top club. But we need to make things difficult for them and go from there."