Sevilla De-pay the price in Atlético romping
With Atlético’s revival firmly under way, it was little surprise to see them start on the front foot in search of a victory that would solidify their spot in the top-four. Translating that early pressure into clear cut chances was proving slightly problematic though. That was at least until Antoine Griezmann’s sumptuous ball found a grateful Memphis Depay, who made no mistake in firing home just his second goal in the famous red and white of Atlético.
Depay didn’t have to wait long for his third either, as just three minutes later the Dutchman worked himself a yard on the edge of the area before unleashing an absolute rocket high into the top right corner of the net. Two goals to the good and cruising, the masters of the dark arts Atlético would’ve been most people’s pick to see the game out with a clean sheet. Sevilla ensured that wouldn’t be the case though and set up an interesting second half when Pape Gueye kept the ball alive at the byline and teed up Youssef En-Nesyri to halve the deficit.
Having played a key role in the creation of Atlético’s opener, Griezmann decided it was time to get in on the goalscoring act himself, and in no mood to be outdone by Depay, the Frenchman unleashed a thunderbolt of his own that had Bono beaten all ends up, marking his 150th goal for the club. With Sevilla already threatening to come from two goals behind once in the game, Atlético would undoubtedly have felt a fourth goal was needed to lay the game to bed. They did find that game clinching goal just before the 70th-minute mark, though it did come in rather fortuitous circumstances as Pablo Barrios’s mis-hit shot fell kindly for Yannick Carrasco to stroke into an unguarded net.
Sevilla did have a chance to grab a consolation when Marcos Llorente clipped Gueye in the area, but Ivan Rakitić saw his penalty cannon back off the post. His miss was punished just moments later, when substitute Álvaro Morata fired home at the second time of asking before Gueye’s late dismissal rubbed salt in Sevilla wounds as their season continues to falter. As for Atlético, who rose to third with the win, a scintillating display was rounded off with a sixth goal in stoppage time by Morata, completing the rout and capping off a memorable night for Simeone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)