Atlético de Madrid took home the full three points in an away match against Sevilla off the back of an impressive first-half performance.
Atlético opened the scoring within the first five minutes through Kang-in Lee, who took on a Sevilla defender on the right wing before finding Álex Baena open in the box. Baena hit his shot first-time to sneak it past Sevilla stopper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Ademola Lookman added to Atleti’s lead in the 26th minute, receiving a Pablo Barrios-sent pass in transition
before sizing up his marker and blasting a shot into the bottom left corner of the net. Baena then scored his second goal of the match in the 33rd minute, taking advantage of a somewhat unresponsive Sevilla defense and slotting an outside-the-box shot past Vlachodimos.
Atleti settled down in the second half, slowing their attacks and retreating into their usual defensive shell. However, they paid for it. Gabriel Suazo’s lofted cross found Sevilla center-forward Robbie Ure in the center of the box, and although Ure couldn’t steer his effort on goal, the loose ball fell to Miguel Sierra. The young Sierra sent his bouncing shot just beyond Jan Oblak’s reach to trim Atleti’s lead to two goals.
Player Ratings
Oblak
Made some solid saves towards the end of the first half, parrying efforts from Peque Fernández and Jon Guridi. He got a hand on Sierra’s attempt but just couldn’t get enough contact to steer it away. Ended the game with four saves in a relatively ordinary outing. 6
Alejandro Grimaldo
Grimaldo was pretty active down the left-hand flank and got forward regularly, offering much-needed support on Atleti’s counterattacks. A shaky clearance in the 22nd minute led to a chance for Sevilla’s Kike Salas, whose powered outside-the-box attempt missed the post. He had another clumsy giveaway just before the hydration break in the first half that triggered a counterattack for Sevilla. 5
Dávid Hancko
Hancko recorded 11 clearances and made two interceptions in a solid 90 minutes. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes, was pretty dependable in possession against the press, and helped Atleti progress the ball into the final third. 6
Marc Pubill
Had some solid defensive moments against a largely uninspired Sevilla attack. He and Hancko were a thorn in Ure’s side throughout the game, but sometimes he and the rest of Atleti’s backline were on different pages when it came to marking Sevilla’s attackers. Picked up a yellow card for bringing down Chidera Ejuke on the wing. 5
Marcos Llorente
Llorente looked comfortable dealing with Julio Díaz on the right-hand side defensively. He technically earned a goal contribution when he laid the ball off to Baena at the top of the box, who struck home with an amazing shot. Picked up a yellow after stamping on Salas’ foot. Hawked down Peque to avoid a one-on-one with Oblak. Josema Gimenez took his place after 66 minutes of play. 6
Morten Hjulmand
Hjulmand made his second competitive start for Atleti on Saturday evening and did well. Playing in a more conservative holding midfielder role, Hjulmand came up with a couple of big defensive contributions and played a couple incisive through-balls to the wings. Hjulmand’s tackle nearly drew a controversial penalty after challenging a Sevilla defender in the box, but VAR ruled that it was a fair tackle. Johnny Cardoso replaced him in the 85th minute. 7
Pablo Barrios
Barrios assisted a goal, breaking through the Sevilla midfield with a one-two with Kang-in before finding Lookman open at the top of the box. He was very active in the middle of the park, showing an exciting blend of poise and technique. Nearly scored off an Arnau Ortiz cross with a header at point-blank range but couldn’t generate the force needed to score Atleti’s fourth. Barrios showed glimmers of genuine brilliance and, if he continues to play like he did today, could evolve into a truly elite midfielder. 8
Giuliano Simeone
A relatively quiet outing for the wide midfielder. He occasionally got loose on the right-hand side, but couldn’t exploit the space he found himself in. Simeone also struggled to contain Ejuke defensively. Could’ve been better. 5
Alex Baena
Connected with Kang-in’s incisive ball and hit his shot one-time to score the game’s opener. He followed that up with a powerful outside-the-box effort that beat Vlachodimos to put Atleti up 3-0. Baena strung together a couple of impressive dribbles under duress. Rodrigo Mendoza took his place five minutes from time. 8
Ademola Lookman
After a slow start to the season, Lookman got on the scoresheet in the 26th minute with a really nice strike to Vlachodimos’ right. Easily could’ve had a second if his transition shot wasn’t blocked by a Sevilla defender. Lookman showed an exciting level of aggression that could get him on the scoresheet more frequently this season Arnau replaced him after 65 minutes of action. 7
Kang-in Lee
Made a great dribble move down the right-hand side at the start of the game and played a great pass to Baena, who scored the game’s opening goal. He found Grimaldo wide open in transition and could’ve had a third assist before halftime if Grimaldo had converted his chance. Koke replaced the Korean winger after 71 minutes. 8
Subs
Jose Gimenez
Looked less than impressive in his brief cameo on Saturday. His passes were errant at times, leading to unforced giveaways that started Sevilla counterattacks. He also looked somewhat slow defensively. A forgettable outing for the Uruguayan as transfer rumors continue to swirl around him. 4
Arnau Ortiz
Very energetic on the left-hand side after replacing Lookman. He got out early in transition and forced a couple of cynical fouls from the Sevilla defense. He sent a shot off target after Vlachodimos spilled an outside-the-box Grimaldo attempt. Another encouraging appearance for the 24-year-old. 6
Koke
Logged 18 minutes but touched the ball just five times after replacing Kang-in. He helped energize a sluggish Atleti squad after they conceded a goal, but didn’t really make his mark on the game’s tempo. 5
Johnny Cardoso
Cardoso made his season debut when he replaced Hjulmand in the 85th minute. He completed two of his three attempted passes and was aggressive defensively, but he didn’t do a lot in that short time span. 5
Rodrigo Mendoza
Mendoza played just five minutes of action and couldn’t really do much during that window. He completed one pass and had four touches. 5
