Sevilla’s slow start to the new La Liga season continues after a vital three points were lost against league competitors Atlético Madrid, who recorded a dominant 3-0 win overnight.
Both teams looked to want to take the three points with both Unai Emery and Diego Simeone fielding strong line ups. However, Emery’s men looked slow to start and this cost them dearly. Chances from both sides threatened, yet it was Atletico that took the lead midway in the first-half after Spanish international Koke poked in a low first time effort.
Howeve, Sevilla sprung to life with key changes in the second-half, Gabi’s fortunate long range effort put Simeone’s men on the verge of two consecutive wins. Summer signing Jackson Martínez, who had to make way for Fernando Torres in the starting XI, sealed the win late on with a well taken finish to open his La Liga coring account.
Sevilla
Beto – 3: A night to forget for the Portuguese custodian. Struggled with Atléti’s attacking plays and was easily beaten for the first and third goals.
Coke – 4.5: Defended well and kept Koke quiet for much of the game.
Daniel Carriço – 3: Was at fault for the lead up to the opener as he gave too much space for Griezmann to pick out Koke. Struggled to contain the Frenchman and was replaced in the second-half.
Adil Rami – 5: Sevilla’s best defender of the day. The French centre-back was quick to prevent Torres from having much time and space on the ball, and was solid for the majority of the match.
Benoit Trémoulinas – 4.5: Looked bright on the left-flank. Provided a real threat when forward, however, was caught out of position multiple times and struggled to perform his duties in defence.
Vicente Iborra – 4: Solid pushing forward but was defensively poor. Like most in the team, grew as the match went on, however, was too little too late.
Grzegorz Krychowiak – 4.5: Performed his duties well sitting deep, but did not offer much of a threat going forward.
Vitolo – 4.5: His pace and trickery put Atléti under pressure, yet he was guilty of trying too much or holding the ball when there were better alternatives.
José Antonio Reyes – 4.5: Seemingly Sevilla’s go to man. Lively and dangerous, most of the attacks were centred on the Spaniard.
Éver Banega – 4.5: Well restricted by both Gabi and Tiago but grew into the game particularly the second-half and tried to create chances for Fernando Llorente.
Fernando Llorente – 5: Unlucky not to score on debut for his new club. Was a constant threat and provided a real battle between Atléti’s two centre backs.
Substitutes
Yevhen Konoplyvanka – 5.5: Came on midway through the second-half and changed a rather tired Sevilla midfield. Looked bright and shifted the momentum to bring his side back into the game.
Michael Krohn-Dehli – 5: Replaced Iborra for his debut. A strong and confident display in the centre for the Danish player.
Kevin Gamiero – 5: Came on for the final 20 minutes to provide more threat up forward. Looked bright and determined to beat the duo of Giménez and Godín.
Atlético Madrid
Jan Oblak – 7: With every game going by, the Slovenian is justifying his place as the number one goalkeeper with excellent performances such as this. Never took his eye off the ball and was aware for the whole game in providing key saves, has now recorded consecutive clean sheets.
Juanfran – 5.5: Consistent performance from the Spanish international. Impressive in pushing forward and creating chances, also fulfilling his defensive duties superbly.
José Giménez – 6: The young defender came out strong, protected his side from Sevilla’s threats and denied Llorente a glorious chance to score.
Diego Godín – 6.5: Up against the strong Sevilla striker, the Argentine did exceptionally well to keep Llorente quiet. Composed and calm as ever, the experienced centre-back played a big role in securing consecutive wins.
Jesús Gámez – 5.5: The former Malaga man got a decent run and showed the strength of depth in this Atléti team. Solid defensively and constant in caused Sevilla danger in attack.
Óliver Torres – 5.5: Up against a more physical opponent in Trémoulinas, the youngster came out on top, impressing as well as cementing the right-flank as his own
Gabi – 6.5: Concerns over the form of the captain last season are surely now a part of the past, with a superb performance in the centre of this Atléti side. Protected his back four admirably and deservedly was the man to score the important second goal coming from a long range strike.
Tiago – 6: Alongside Gabi, Tiago assisted in creating a wall in front of the defence in a commanding performance. Played his part in creating options when getting forward.
Koke – 6.5: Brilliant throughout, with hard determination in scoring the important opener. Unfortunate to come off in the second-half with an injury.
Fernando Torres – 5.5: The experienced striker looked determined to score today and was unlucky not to hit the target, yet worked extremely hard and linked up well with fellow striker Griezmann.
Antoine Griezmann – 7: Was unplayable for Sevilla’s backline. The Frenchman was lively throughout, and could have seen his name on the scoresheet, however, provided the assist for both Koke’s and Martínez’ goals. The star player of this new Atléti side.
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Substitutes
Saúl Ñíguez –5.5: Came on for the injured Koke in the second-half. Played well and helped his team push for the vital three points.
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco – 5.5: Came on with 20 minutes to go and looked impressive on the ball.
Jackson Martínez – 6: A cameo appearance for the big money signing finished with an excellent taken goal. Looked dangerous for the little minutes that was available.
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