Atleti kicks off the year with a draw in Seville
Our team earned a 1-1 draw at Sevilla in the first match of the year. Griezmann scored a superb free-kick goal.
Atleti kicked off the year with a 1-1 draw at Sevilla's Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium. The home side scored first but Griezmann equalised just before half-time through a fantastic free-kick.
It was an intense game right from the off between the 2nd and 3rd placed sides in LaLiga. Both teams we're evenly matched in the first 30 minutes, with Sevilla attacking down Jesús Navas' right flank and Simeone's boys trying their luck from outside the box a coupe of times. A good though ball for Correa was ruled offside.
But in the 37th minute, Sevilla took the lead through Ben Yedder, once again following a play down the home side's right wing. Griezmann tried to equalise right away, but his shot was saved by the keeper. However, in the last minute of the first half, the Frenchman scored an outstanding free-kick goal to make it 1-1 just before half-time.
Saúl Ñíguez had a good chance in the first few minutes of the second half, but our number 8 was denied by the keeper. Despite playing as a left-back, the Spaniard was an offensive threat. The game was very intense also after the break, with both teams searching for their second goal. However, it was Atleti who began attacking more and more as the game progressed. After about 60 minutes, Saúl had a couple of decent chances, the first from outside the box and the second a header following a corner. We were getting closer to the second goal. But Sevilla were also chasing their goal, and Ben Yedder had a good chance around the 70th minute. The ball went wide.
Ten minutes before the end of the match, Simeone decided to change things around. Montero came on for Correa and Saúl moved to the middle of the pitch. Both keepers made great saves in the last few minutes, with the Sevilla keeper denying Griezmann's one on one and Oblak stretching to stop the home team from scoring from outside the box. Thomas tried his luck from way out, but his great shot was saved. Our team had several chances in the last few minutes, but the first game of 2019 ended with a 1-1 draw at the Sánchez-Pizjuán.
