Atlético and Sevilla share the points in a frenetic match with lots of chances (2-2)
Youngster Koke and Reyes tally for the ‘rojiblancos’
Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla drew in a frenetic and fast-paced match that ended 2-all. The rojiblancos’ fighting spirit and hard work allowed them to fight back twice against the visitors, who were deadly in front of the goal. Koke and Reyes netted for the home side, while Negredo and Rakitic were the goal-scorers for Sevilla.
The duel couldn’t have been more thrilling. The side from Madrid was taking on Sevilla, a direct rival in the battle for European spots and a squad with enough pedigree to make things tough on Quique’s lads. In the minds of everyone was last year’s Copa del Rey final in Barcelona in which the ‘rojiblancos’ finished as runners-up despite showing as much or more than their opponents. The game from round 25 of La Liga was different. Both teams came into the fixture in similar situations. After their victory over Zaragoza, Atlético wanted to continue along that line and begin to climb spots in the table.
The two teams sized each other up in the opening minutes. Former Sevilla winger José Antonio Reyes was the first to try his luck from distance in the third minute, but his shot was wrapped up by Javi Varas. The reply came from the boots of Negredo on a free kick, but De Gea was quick to deny the chance from the visitors. Atlético came out very active and in the 7th minute of the match strung together a nice counter-attack led by Diego Forlán, but his cross-pitch pass was sent wide by Czech Tomas Ujfalusi.
As was to be expected, Gregorio Manzano’s Sevilla didn’t allow themselves to be surprised by Atlético, but the ‘colchoneros’ didn’t give up in their determination. The pressure from the home squad was intense as Quique was able to place his side perfectly on the pitch, and this made things very difficult for the side from Andalusia. Atlético wanted to show their credentials and did just that. Quique planned a very offensive game and his players were responding. The ‘rojiblancos’ began to control the ball and the movements from their strikers were class. Raúl García showed his offensive prowess in the 15th minute with a left-footed missile, but Varas punched away.
Home-grown footballer Koke was playing his second consecutive match as a starter and the midfielder was putting his talent on display. Together with Reyes and Kun Agüero, he was one of the most determinant players in the opening moments of the clash. In minute 23, the youngster carried into the Sevilla area and sent across a measured pass for Forlán, but Varas came out quickly and beat Forlán to the ball as the Uruguayan lined up to shoot.
Just past the half-hour mark, the pace dropped off a bit. The opening minutes had been frenzied for both squads. It had been frenetic, but without goals. Neither of the two sides had had enough accuracy to get the scoreboard at the Vicente Calderón moving. With all the chances had by Atlético, Sevilla were the ones to open the scoring. Negredo beat De Gea in the 41st minute on a rifled left-footer after Perotti had left the ball back for the forward with his chest inside the area. The international finished it off with a stunning strike.
Atlético responded to the goal with a nice attack in which Forlán crossed for Koke on a great pass, but Javi Varas responded well to make a kick save. With this deficit, the home team headed to the dressing room with a poor prize for the work they’d done during the first 45 minutes.
The second half began with nerves and hesitations. After a nice play from Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid came away with the spoils. Squad player Koke got the Calderón faithful on their feet when he skilfully headed in an inch-perfect long pass from Forlán. A new idol has clearly been born for the Atlético supporters. Koke has shown outstanding skill and attitude. With things even on the scoresheet, both teams pushed forward to try and maximise their chances to win the contest.
With the score level, Atlético felt the superior side. The ‘colchoneros’ didn’t want to let the chance to earn three points and close in on European spots slip away, and the Atleti fans made the stadium tremble. Kun Agüero again showed magic on the pitch by picking up a difficult loose ball and bringing danger to Varas’ goal on an individual play. The Sevilla netminder was the best of his squad and saved Sevilla first on a shot from Agüero and then on the rebound from Koke.
If there’s one thing about Sevilla it’s that you can’t relax against them. The visitors knew that they could cause damage on the counter-attack. Said and done. After a nice chance for Atlético, Rakitic got on the end of a fine pass from Navas and unleashed a right-footed finish that snuck in at De Gea’s far post. Quique’s lads had been playing a good game, but the prize was being seized by Sevilla.
But luck had to be fair and Atlético were able to level through Reyes. The winger took in a long ball over the top from Forlán on the left, marched in on Varas and beat him perfectly with a low shot to the far post. It was a crucial goal for the Atleti ‘19’ that got the Calderón followers back up on their feet. The Atlético players were displaying their fighting spirit at home against a very tough opponent.
Quique’s men applied more and more pressure as the minutes wore on. Nerves took over the Sevilla footballers and this forced Varas into more action, and caused him to make a huge mental blunder. He picked up a back-pass, Tiago took the kick quickly and dropped back for Agüero, but the keeper somehow made an impossible save. Diego Costa then had the victory in minute 85, but a defender slid to cut out and deny the Brazilian from shooting. The match turned into a back-and-forth race. Negredo ripped a left-footed bullet from distance that looked headed for the upper corner, but ended up bouncing off the underside of the crossbar and out.
After the final whistle, Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla both came away from this high-intensity affair with one point in a match that didn’t let the fans down, as there were chances, goals, effort and nerves.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 2 (Koke and Reyes); SEVILLA, 2 (Negredo and Rakitic).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea, Ujfalusi, Godín, Domínguez, Antonio López, Raúl García, Tiago, Reyes, Koke (Juanfran, 67’), Agüero and Forlán (D. Costa, 82’).
Sevilla: Javi Varas; Dabo (Sergio Sánchez, 60’), Fazio, Escudé, Fernando Navarro; Jesús Navas, Medel, Rakitic, Perotti (Capel, 82’); Negredo and Luis Fabiano (Renato, 89’).
Referee: Mateu La Hoz. For Atlético de Madrid booked Kun Agüero (45’) and Ujfalusi (52’); for Sevilla booked Medel (39’) and F. Navarro (59’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Matchday 25 of La Liga BBVA.
Goals:
0-1 (41’). Negredo scores the opening goal on a hard, left-footed strike.
1-1 (46’). Koke scores a header after a fine pass from Diego Forlán.
1-2 (65’). Rakitic gives Sevilla the lead with a right-footed shot to the far post.
2-2 (76’). Reyes scores on a diagonal shot after a long ball over the top from Forlán.
The duel couldn’t have been more thrilling. The side from Madrid was taking on Sevilla, a direct rival in the battle for European spots and a squad with enough pedigree to make things tough on Quique’s lads. In the minds of everyone was last year’s Copa del Rey final in Barcelona in which the ‘rojiblancos’ finished as runners-up despite showing as much or more than their opponents. The game from round 25 of La Liga was different. Both teams came into the fixture in similar situations. After their victory over Zaragoza, Atlético wanted to continue along that line and begin to climb spots in the table.
The two teams sized each other up in the opening minutes. Former Sevilla winger José Antonio Reyes was the first to try his luck from distance in the third minute, but his shot was wrapped up by Javi Varas. The reply came from the boots of Negredo on a free kick, but De Gea was quick to deny the chance from the visitors. Atlético came out very active and in the 7th minute of the match strung together a nice counter-attack led by Diego Forlán, but his cross-pitch pass was sent wide by Czech Tomas Ujfalusi.
As was to be expected, Gregorio Manzano’s Sevilla didn’t allow themselves to be surprised by Atlético, but the ‘colchoneros’ didn’t give up in their determination. The pressure from the home squad was intense as Quique was able to place his side perfectly on the pitch, and this made things very difficult for the side from Andalusia. Atlético wanted to show their credentials and did just that. Quique planned a very offensive game and his players were responding. The ‘rojiblancos’ began to control the ball and the movements from their strikers were class. Raúl García showed his offensive prowess in the 15th minute with a left-footed missile, but Varas punched away.
Home-grown footballer Koke was playing his second consecutive match as a starter and the midfielder was putting his talent on display. Together with Reyes and Kun Agüero, he was one of the most determinant players in the opening moments of the clash. In minute 23, the youngster carried into the Sevilla area and sent across a measured pass for Forlán, but Varas came out quickly and beat Forlán to the ball as the Uruguayan lined up to shoot.
Just past the half-hour mark, the pace dropped off a bit. The opening minutes had been frenzied for both squads. It had been frenetic, but without goals. Neither of the two sides had had enough accuracy to get the scoreboard at the Vicente Calderón moving. With all the chances had by Atlético, Sevilla were the ones to open the scoring. Negredo beat De Gea in the 41st minute on a rifled left-footer after Perotti had left the ball back for the forward with his chest inside the area. The international finished it off with a stunning strike.
Atlético responded to the goal with a nice attack in which Forlán crossed for Koke on a great pass, but Javi Varas responded well to make a kick save. With this deficit, the home team headed to the dressing room with a poor prize for the work they’d done during the first 45 minutes.
The second half began with nerves and hesitations. After a nice play from Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid came away with the spoils. Squad player Koke got the Calderón faithful on their feet when he skilfully headed in an inch-perfect long pass from Forlán. A new idol has clearly been born for the Atlético supporters. Koke has shown outstanding skill and attitude. With things even on the scoresheet, both teams pushed forward to try and maximise their chances to win the contest.
With the score level, Atlético felt the superior side. The ‘colchoneros’ didn’t want to let the chance to earn three points and close in on European spots slip away, and the Atleti fans made the stadium tremble. Kun Agüero again showed magic on the pitch by picking up a difficult loose ball and bringing danger to Varas’ goal on an individual play. The Sevilla netminder was the best of his squad and saved Sevilla first on a shot from Agüero and then on the rebound from Koke.
If there’s one thing about Sevilla it’s that you can’t relax against them. The visitors knew that they could cause damage on the counter-attack. Said and done. After a nice chance for Atlético, Rakitic got on the end of a fine pass from Navas and unleashed a right-footed finish that snuck in at De Gea’s far post. Quique’s lads had been playing a good game, but the prize was being seized by Sevilla.
But luck had to be fair and Atlético were able to level through Reyes. The winger took in a long ball over the top from Forlán on the left, marched in on Varas and beat him perfectly with a low shot to the far post. It was a crucial goal for the Atleti ‘19’ that got the Calderón followers back up on their feet. The Atlético players were displaying their fighting spirit at home against a very tough opponent.
Quique’s men applied more and more pressure as the minutes wore on. Nerves took over the Sevilla footballers and this forced Varas into more action, and caused him to make a huge mental blunder. He picked up a back-pass, Tiago took the kick quickly and dropped back for Agüero, but the keeper somehow made an impossible save. Diego Costa then had the victory in minute 85, but a defender slid to cut out and deny the Brazilian from shooting. The match turned into a back-and-forth race. Negredo ripped a left-footed bullet from distance that looked headed for the upper corner, but ended up bouncing off the underside of the crossbar and out.
After the final whistle, Atlético de Madrid and Sevilla both came away from this high-intensity affair with one point in a match that didn’t let the fans down, as there were chances, goals, effort and nerves.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID, 2 (Koke and Reyes); SEVILLA, 2 (Negredo and Rakitic).
Atlético de Madrid: De Gea, Ujfalusi, Godín, Domínguez, Antonio López, Raúl García, Tiago, Reyes, Koke (Juanfran, 67’), Agüero and Forlán (D. Costa, 82’).
Sevilla: Javi Varas; Dabo (Sergio Sánchez, 60’), Fazio, Escudé, Fernando Navarro; Jesús Navas, Medel, Rakitic, Perotti (Capel, 82’); Negredo and Luis Fabiano (Renato, 89’).
Referee: Mateu La Hoz. For Atlético de Madrid booked Kun Agüero (45’) and Ujfalusi (52’); for Sevilla booked Medel (39’) and F. Navarro (59’).
Incidents: Estadio Vicente Calderón. Matchday 25 of La Liga BBVA.
Goals:
0-1 (41’). Negredo scores the opening goal on a hard, left-footed strike.
1-1 (46’). Koke scores a header after a fine pass from Diego Forlán.
1-2 (65’). Rakitic gives Sevilla the lead with a right-footed shot to the far post.
2-2 (76’). Reyes scores on a diagonal shot after a long ball over the top from Forlán.
