Atlético finally played the scandalously postponed match. Sergio Ramos suddenly helped

Atlético finally played the scandalously postponed match. Sergio Ramos suddenly helped

Mikhail Rozhdestvensky December 23, 2023, 20:31 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

Sevilla continues to suffer, but Simeone’s team has not had it easy.

Atlético Madrid have received a lot of praise this season, but looking at the table it was difficult to know what ambitions Diego Simeone’s team has. Even due to the fact that Madrid had one game less. On the fourth day, Atlético was supposed to face Sevilla, but the match was canceled due to the threat of heavy rain.

However, when the match was about to start, there were no weather problems. Of course, Atlético’s bosses were furious: the team received an unnecessary condensation of the schedule in winter and lost the opportunity to pick up a potentially easy three points (Sevilla were very bad). And the stadium was expected to be full.

And then, in December, the time came. The pre-match schedule was as follows:

Atlético was among the top 5. In case of victory, he reached points with Athletic and Barcelona, ​​​​who closed the top three; Sevilla changed coaches (Quique Flores is now in charge), but they still suffered. 16 points in 17 games, 16th place, three points from the relegation zone.

The result was quite expected, but there were quite a few stories in the match.

In the first half Atlético played with an advantage, but this does not surprise anyone. Simeone’s men had more possession of the ball (56% of the time) and shot more frequently (6-2 shots). Sevilla especially suffered from shots from deep in the midfield: Atlético’s players ran behind the defenders and had excellent chances of aggravation. However, there were no goals in the first half.

But the goal came immediately after the break. In the first minute of the second half, Atlético made a characteristic shot from distance, Marcos Llorente caught the ball and crossed. Sergio Ramos was the first to have the ball, but a problem arose: the Sevilla defenders were running towards the goal and the veteran tried to clear in front of goal. In the end it turned out to be a discount from Llorente himself, and with one touch he shot on goal. 1:0.

Sergio Ramos

Photo: David S. Bustamante/Getty Images

Towards the middle of the first half, Atlético openly went into economical mode. It is true that this did not have the consequences that Simeone probably expected. In the 66th minute, the coach let Caglar Soyuncu enter the field. Less than four minutes passed and the Turkish defender managed to leave: he tried to intercept Lucas Ocampos’s ball without precision and stepped on his Achilles tendon with his shots. The referee showed a yellow card, but the VAR intervened and Atlético was left with ten men.

Due to Soyuncu’s dismissal, Atlético’s headquarters had to urgently arrange a new replacement. The great star suffered: when Antoine Griezmann saw his number on the substitute referee’s sign, he grimaced as if he were being substituted not half an hour before the final whistle, but in the 3rd minute of the match.

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Ramos, who accidentally became Sevilla’s antihero, tried to rectify the situation. He actively advanced, tried to shoot once from about 30 meters, and then took a free kick. But it’s all in vain. Rather, Atlético could have scored a second. Llorente had the opportunity to score a double, but he wasted the one-on-one.

Atlético is now fourth, as it is still inferior to Barça in additional indicators. And Sevilla lost the opportunity to escape the relegation zone. Although the opposite would be a kind of sensation.

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