Atlético Madrid bested both of Seville’s representatives in LaLiga in the span of a week. After defeating Betis 2-0 at La Cartuja on Monday, Atlético shook off a slow start at home on Saturday to run out
3-0 winners over Sevilla.
It took over an hour, but Julián Alvarez opened the scoring with a deadly-accurate penalty before Giuliano Simeone picked out a late-arriving Thiago Almada for the second goal. Antoine Griezmann polished off the result with a 90th-minute strike, his 200th goal in LaLiga; he is one of only 11 players in the 96-year history of the Spanish league to score at least 200 times.
Let’s get into some takeaways that we can glean from this result.
Changes — by both managers — decided the game
The first half on Saturday was cagey, if not downright sleepy. With Pablo Barrios injured, Atlético struggled to make inroads against Sevilla’s stubborn mid-block. Álex Baena (more on him in a moment) picked up the slack as Koke’s partner in midfield, but Atleti had two shots on target and produced a pedestrian 0.81 expected goals in the first 45 minutes. Both managers, close friends from their playing days, knew something had to change.
Matías Almeyda moved first. The Sevilla boss shuffled his defense at the intermission, as captain Nemanja Gudelj replaced Batista Mendy and the barely-fit César Azpilicueta came off for Tanguy Nianzou. Diego Simeone didn’t move until the first goal arrived — a sequence that started from chaos at an Atlético corner.
As Sevilla tried frantically to clear the ball, Nianzou fouled Josema Giménez in the box and conceded a penalty; I thought Nianzou was a bit fortunate not to see a red card for violent conduct, but I’m sure Simeone and company gladly took the ensuing Alvarez penalty instead.
On 68 minutes, El Cholo turned to his bench. Thiago Almada replaced Alexander Sørloth, while Conor Gallagher came on for Nico Gonzalez (who missed a couple chances but left everything he had on the pitch, as has become custom). While Gallagher and his fresh legs chased after the ball repeatedly, Almada seemed to float all across the pitch and ended up with two goal contributions. Undetected by Sevilla’s tiring defenders, Almada waltzed into the box to tap in Giuliano’s cross, and a quick pass to Griezmann saw the Frenchman line up his second goal of the season — the 201st of his Atleti career.
The lack of depth at Atlético was a major issue in the opening weeks; now, Simeone has some options from which to choose. Almada continues to make an impact as a substitute, while Griezmann has looked sharp after a bad start to the season. In defense, Matteo Ruggeri did well enough in his first start for six weeks to keep Dávid Hancko in central defense and afford Robin Le Normand some rest. Johnny Cardoso’s imminent return will allow Simeone to spell Koke, and the coach is even finding a workable context for the much-maligned Nahuel Molina: as a right-winger, with Marcos Llorente sliding into central defense behind him.
Did Baena as a CM work?
As mentioned, Simeone chose Baena to “replace” Barrios in midfield, allowing Sørloth an opportunity to start. The former Villarreal stars saw their connection somewhat re-established in the first half, when a Baena long ball found Sørloth for Atlético’s first shot on goal. It was one of four chances that Baena created in the first half, as he showed off much of the exquisite passing range that convinced Atleti to purchase him for €42 million.
In all, Baena created five chances from just 54 touches. But beyond this elite ability he possesses, I think Simeone selected him in Barrios’ stead for his tactical intelligence — specifically, his talent for recovering the football.
It is for this reason too that Baena has come to be regarded as his idol Griezmann’s heir apparent. We know that Griezmann is one of his generation’s most talented players, capable of creating and scoring spectacular goals (to the tune of 200 in LaLiga). But Griezmann’s understanding of what his team needs, and when, is rivaled by few players of his era.
Baena’s reading of the game mirrors Griezmann’s, in terms of his anticipation and reading of the game. In addition to creating a chance every 11 touches against Sevilla, Baena made three recoveries, won three ground duels, made two interceptions, and drew two fouls.
In short: yes, the Baena bet in midfield paid off. He can play that position just like Griezmann has before for Atlético, and most prominently for France during the 2022 World Cup. But I think that Baena’s best role is as that fulcrum behind Alvarez — and if his career path at Atlético does indeed mirror Griezmann’s, then he is ticketed for great things at this club.
Llorente, Giménez keep chugging along
Llorente and the Atlético defense get their own section here. The Colchoneros have kept three clean sheets in succession in LaLiga, and Simeone’s defense right now looks as competent as it has this calendar year
For the 32nd match in succession, Llorente played the complete 90 minutes. In one of his quieter outings, Llorente had 58 touches and three passes into the final third, as he managed to gallop away into the Sevilla penalty area just once in the second half. But the Spain international’s discipline and consistency from right-back/right center-back continue to make him an absolute benchmark in this Atleti side.
Another referential player is one Josema Giménez, whose return to the side last month has coincided with this defensive revival. In 332 minutes between LaLiga and the Champions League, Atlético have shipped one goal with Giménez on the pitch. Jan Oblak is visibly more confident with his fellow captain organizing the defense ahead of him, while both Le Normand and Hancko (on Saturday) have turned in good performances while partnering the Uruguayan.
The timing couldn’t be better. Atleti face Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise in a must-win Champions League game on Tuesday night; the Rojiblancos sit 19th in the league phase table with a minus-one goal difference. Growing that number will be imperative. Only three teams — Eintracht Frankfurt among them — have shipped more goals through the opening three rounds than Union have.
