La Liga Round 28

Atlético de Madrid 3-1 Sevilla FC

Lineups:

Atlético de Madrid: Oblak; Vrsaljko, Savić, Godín, Luis; Carrasco, Gabi, Saúl, Koke; Griezmann, Gameiro. (4-4-2)

Sevilla FC: Rico; Escudero, Lenglet, Rami, Mercado, Mariano; Sarabia, Nasri, N’Zonzi, Vitolo; Ben Yedder. (5-4-1)

Both teams arrived to this game while facing different situations. On the one hand, Atlético de Madrid have gained momentum and improved their level after winning five of their last seven La Liga games. On the other hand, Sevilla FC have won four of their last seven La Liga games – they tied their last two games and suffered to get a 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao.

Atlético stablished the pace of this game throughout the whole 90 minutes. Saúl Ñiguez and Gabi did an amazing defensive job at blocking the vision of Steven N’Zonzi and cutting the passing lanes of Sevilla. Atlético exploited the open spaces very well thanks to the velocity of Yannick Carrasco, Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro. They applied a high-pressure that forced Sevilla to play with long-passes.

After 37 minutes of intensity and feistiness, Atlético deservedly scored the first goal after using one of its oldest and most reliable formulas: Headers. Diego Godín, who was wide open thanks to the bad marking by Gabriel Mercado, scored a header that came from a Griezmann’s free-kick.

Atlético alternated game plans in both half. They controlled the possession of the ball in the first half. While in the second half, they let Sevilla have the ball a little bit more while dropping to their box and closing every gap. Sevilla improved in the second half, but it was not enough. Atlético is one of the best teams in the world, if not the best, at defending a 1-0 lead. They continued exploiting the wings through counter-attacks.

In the 61st minute, Griezmann extended the lead for Atlético after scoring a beautiful free-kick. One of the keys of the game was the substitution of Šime Vrsaljko – who got injured – for Juanfran. Juanfran was solid on the defensive duties every time he had to anticipate to intercept a rival’s pass. He also provided some depth on the offensive transitions. This was the case for the third goal for Atlético. The team triangulated through a fantastic counter-attack. Juanfran made the cut through the right wing and sent a pass that was intercepted by Sergio Rico. Rico could not hold the ball, so it ended up in Koke‘s feet. Koke did not hesitate and scored the third goal for his team. The goal for Sevilla also came from a counter-attack that was finished by Carlos Correa.

Competitive consistency is one of the most difficult aspects to dominate in any sport. Sevilla are starting to witness that difficult reality. After having an amazing January and February, Sevilla are struggling to play well and get results. It is difficult for any team to keep up to the competitive pace of Real Madrid or FC Barcelona. Now they are in danger of losing the third place to Atlético, which are now two points behind them.